Change what can be
by Pisces.TJ
Summary: Set after Harry's trail in OotP, 7 mysterious books arrive. Along with a few guests. Join them as they read of both past, present, and future events
1. Chapter 1

_It was a nice, sunny day at Grimmauld's Place. I would say nice and quiet but it was never quiet, specaily since Harry's trail. Ginny, Fread and George had taken to yelling "HE GOT OFF!" when they heard Harry's name._

_Anyway's, it was nearing noon and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Hermione were making lunch. Mr. Weasley, Remus, Sirius, and Tonks about Order business as usual; while the Harry, Ron, Fred, and George were up stairs cleaning. All was disturbed by a FLASH, a thud, and a scream that came from the kitchen. The others raced to the kitchen to be met by a strange scene. Neville, Luna, and Drace were slowly getting up from the floor, looking bewildered. But before anyone could ask or say anything Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape had floo'd in._

"_Professor's? what are you doing here?" asked Harry._

_McGonagall and Snape looked at Dumbledore._

"_I was summoned here by Albus," McGonagall said.._

"_As was I," sneered Snape._

_Dumbledore smiled, "I was summoned here also. By 4 teens that looked rather rough and said to follow there directions. The youngest, a lady, threatened my with the Bat Bogey hex." He chuckled at the memory. Everyone else was shocked, Who the bloody hell would threaten Dumbledore? They thought._

"_Who were they?" Hermione asked._

"_Alas! I cannot say and I dare say I wouldn't. It should be amusing to see," his eyes twinkled, "But they said a note would appear._

_FLASH_

_Harry caught the note swiftly and thought, Odd the handwriting is familiar…_

"_It says:_

_The following people should be there._

_Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna, Fred, George, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Draco._

_Now all of you cannot leave so don't bother trying. You are in a place that is like the Room of Requirments, (a place that provids everything but food) which we fixed so now it does. Just ask, and looks like Sirius's home. Well, anyways, we who write are from the future._

_Some gasped and others look further shocked._

"_Yes, yes, get over it. We want to change what is to come. To many die in are time. Many were close to you all and us and we wish to change your future so it will not be like ours. For you to understand and gain some more knowledge we send you 7 books."_

_FLASH and said books appeared._

"_These books are about the past, present, and future events and you are to read them. These books are written in Harry's view._

_Harry, Snape, and Draco groaned. The Harry chuckled as he read ahead._

_Harry, Snape, and Draco! SHUT UP!"_

_Everyone laughed but Snape and Draco glared._

_Harry was there through most, if not all, of it. So you should know the important facts. We wanted to send this farther back but as you'll come to see that some things needed to happen to set it right. We want Voldemort -"_

_People flinched._

_You need to say the bloody name! We want Voldemort defeated, before certain things happen. We're sorry you have to sit through 4 years you've already lived but if you follow carefully you may see the hints to major events._

_Well that's about it. There may be more notes, either to the group or certain people, we don't know. And if all goes well and you wish to change the future we'll drop in for a visit, though we'll drop in any ways. Have fun and DO NOT JUDGE TILL YOU FINISH THEM ALL! We're listening._

_Love,_

_Family_

_(haha, thought we'd tell you who we are)_

_There was stunned silence as everyone prosest this._

"_Well lets see what the books are," Hermione said as see picked one up._

"_First one is __**Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,**_

_**Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, -"**_

_Ginny shuddered._

"_**Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,-"**_

_Sirius paled and Harry winced._

"_**Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,-"**_

_Harry sank into a chair as he remembered the graveyard. Some looked at Harry sadly._

"_**Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, **_

_**Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,-"**_

_Snape whipped his head towards her then narrowed his eye's at Harry. Only Dumbledore noticed this._

"_And the last one is, __**Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."**_

"_I'm going to have to do everything in these books…." Harry whispered as he dropped his head in his hands, "Oh god," he breathed._

_Dumbledore looked at him, face composed, "The note said we may be able to change this."_

_Sirius and Remus each put a hand on his shoulders._

"_Let's get the started," he said, eye's sad._

_Sirius and Remus on Harry's right, Ron and Hermione on his left._

"_Does anyone mind if I start?" Hermione asked._

_People shook there head or said no._


	2. The Boy Who Lived

"**Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." **Hermione began.

**Chapter One**

**The Boy Who Lived**

Snape snorted and the teens glared at him. Harry mumbled how he hates the attention and everyone knows that.

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."**

"They try so hard to be normal there just not normal anymore." Harry said.

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.**

"Well they failed that," said Fred.

"Yeah, Harry's strange alright," George inserted.

"and he acts mysterious enough," said Fred.

Everyone laughed softly. Harry chuckled.

**was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills.**

"What are drills?" inquired Mr. Weasley.

Seeing Mrs. Weasley's stern face, Hermione said, "I believe that quit a few Muggle things will be mentioned, so make a list and I'll explain them later."

Mr. Weasley nodded eagerly.

**He was a beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursley's had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

"Wrong on both accounts," Harry said as Fred, George and Ron sniggered.

"What do you mean?" asked Neville.

"I'm sure you'll find out," he said with a mysterious smile.

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, -**

"Oh, do tell!" Sirius said sarcastically.

**And their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. **

"They are secretly pig mutations, except Petunia, who happens to be related to a giraffe. She was adopted and that's why she hated mum," Harry muttered to Ron, who had to try hard not to laugh loudly as Snape was glaring right at him.

"Be nice, Harry dear, they are your family," Molly reprimanded.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Unfortunately, I really don't understand how that happened."

"Well, you see, Harrykins," George cut in, "Your grandparents fell in love and then,"

"George!" Molly interrupted, "I'm sure Harry is aware of what occurs after marriage."

Harry looked at her quizzically, oh this would be good.

"What?" Suddenly everyone in the room turned to look at him.

"Uh, mate," Ron asked, "You do know how babies come about right?" Harry frowned and shook his head. It really was getting hard not to laugh, the looks on there faces!

Jaws dropped. After he had recovered, Sirius jumped up, "Moony, you are giving Harry the Talk before we all go to bed tonight."

Remus folded his arms and gave Sirius a stern look before saying firmly, "You are his godfather, it's your responsibility."

Sirius gave Harry a panicked glance, and ran his hand through his hair. "You are better at explaining things, and I am quite sure Lily would not want me to give Harry the Talk."

Fred was pounding the side of his chair with tears rolling down his face, while George was rolling on the floor, both seemed to be having trouble breathing as they were both bright red and not making any noise. The rest of the room still seemed shocked.

Finally Harry couldn't take it anymore, he burst out laughing, just as hard as Fred and George.

"I-I can't believe you guys fell for that!" Harry said through his laughter.

"So you know where babies come from?" Hermione asked, unsure. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Hermione I may not have had 'The Talk' but I'm fifteen. I know about sex." Harry said, slightly blushing. Sirius and Remus look relieved. Ginny giggled as she saw Harry's blush.

"Awww, Harrykins is blushing," laughed Fred and George. Harry looked pleadingly at Hermione, who raised an eyebrow at him but read.

**They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"There is nothing wrong with the Potters!" snapped Sirius.

"I would disagree," Snape sneered. Earning himself quit a few glares.

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister,**

Mrs. Weasley's eyes started watering as she thought of Percy.

**because her and her good-for-nothing husband -**

"James/Dad were not good-for-nothing!" yelled Sirius, Remus, and Harry.

**Were as unDursleyish**

"Not even a word," growled Remus.

**as it was possible. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never seen him.**

"That's horrible." said Mrs. Weasley.

**This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"Like what?" Sirius said in a dangerous voice.

"I think they were calling Harry a bad egg," stated Fred.

"Yeah, but don't listen to them," continued George.

"There's nothing really wrong with him - "

"- except he's a little touched in the head,"

"and a scrawny git."

"But other than that, he's an alright bloke!" They finished together.

Everyone laughed at there antics.

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts,**

"I thought it already had," said a smiling Ginny.

**there was nothing about the cloudy sky to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work,**

"Why would he pick the most boring one?" Ron asked.

"The real question is how does he know which is the most boring? There all boring," Harry said.

**and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

"Lovely"

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

People looked confused.

"I just realized. This is from when we were both babies. But then why are we hearing this?" Harry asked.

"I believe this is the day of or after Halloween," answered Dumbledore.

"Oh," Harry looked down, everyone knew what this meant.

**At half past eight, Mr Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum -**

"Nothing new there."

**- and throwing his cereal at the walls. "Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.**

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar - a cat reading a map**

"Huh?" people said. McGonagall smirked.

**For a second Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen - then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive,**

"Aha! It's Minnie!" laughed Sirius.

"Sirius don't call me that!" scowled McGonagall.

"You can't know it's her Black," sneered Snape.

"I bet it is,"

**But there was no map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light.**

"Pathetic," said Fred and George, shaking there heads.

**Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. **

"Minnie," sang Sirius.

**As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive - no, looking at the sign, cats couldn't read maps or signs.**

"Some can," sniffed McGonagall.

**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing else except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.**

"One track mind that."

**But on the edge of town drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual moring traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**

"What's so strange about that?" Ron asked.

"Muggles don't wear cloaks. So, to them, its strange to do so," Hermione answered.

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes - the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing a emerald green cloak!**

"The nerve he has!" George said with a pompous attitude.

**The nerve of him!**

Most laughed at George's horrified expression.

**But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt - these people were obviously collecting for something…yes, that would be it. The traffic moved ona nd a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.**

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight.**

"Hmf," and "going to expose us," could be heard from both McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley.

**though people down in the streets did; they pointed and stared open-mouthed**

"Watch out below!" yelled Fred and George.

"Ewww" people who understood said.

**as owl after owl sped overhead.**

"Have they ever even seen an owl before?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"It says next line," Hermione said, scanning ahead.

**Most had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important phone calls and shouted a bit more.**

"Fun," Remus said sarcastically.

"For him, yes it is," snorted Harry, which earned him looks.

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd go stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

"He thinks that's excerice?"

"Only one?"

"Fatty."

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy.**

"Understatement," mumbled Harry, earning him even more odd looks.

**This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin.**

"Cause there not collecting," sang the twins.

**It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

Hermione glanced at Harry quickly before reading on.

"**The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard-"**

"**-yes, their son, Harry-"**

Harry stiffened and his face paled slightly. Sirius put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. Hermione took his hand. Everyone else, except Snape and Draco, looked at Harry sympathetically.

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead.**

"Yes!" the twins shouted, making people jump, as they tried to cheer everyone up.

"Shut up! It's just an expression," Ginny said hitting them both upside the head.

"Owwwww."

**Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whispering group as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.**

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the reciever back down and stroked his mustache, thinking…**

"Not good!"

**no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name.**

"Yes it is," Tonks said confused, as were a few others.

"Maybe in the wizarding world. But in the Muggle world it's more common," Harry said blankly and continued to him self. "Believe me I'd know."

Dumbledore glanced at the boy sadly and looked away quickly. Remus had also heard but he really didn't think he wanted to know.

**He was sure there was lots of people called Potter who had a son named Harry.**

"Well that's less likely."

**Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry.**

"I still don't know if he does," Harry mused.

"What do you -," asked Sirius but Harry had cut him off.

"I'm sure you'll see," he said with a mysterious smile but it was a bit dark.

**He'd never even seen the boy. It might be Harvey. Or Harold.**

"Harvey Potter, Harold Potter," Ginny smirked, "No. Doesn't have the same ring as Harry Potter."

"haha, thanks."

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister.**

"Does anyone know why she hates my mum?" asked Harry.

"Jealousy. Lily was a witch and Petunia wasn't," said, not Sirius or Remus, but Snape. Only Dumbledore seemed to notice the way he had said Lily's name, not that it stopped Sirius from glaring at Snape.

Though Hermione wanted to know too, she read before Harry could ask anything.

**He didn't blame her - if he'd had a sister like that…**

"Yeah like Aunt Marge is any better," Harry growled, fist clenched tightly. A cold wind swept through.

"Harry calm down," Hermione cautioned.

"Does that happen often Potter?" McGonagall asked.

Harry mumbled something, the boys sniggered even Draco. "What's that Harry? Can't her you." George teased.

"Yes," Harry glaring at him.

**but all the same, these people in cloaks… He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

"Poor person."

"**Sorry," he grunted,**

"He knows how to apologize?" Harry asked in amazement.

**As the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak.**

"Bet he wouldn't have apologized if he'd seen what he was wearing," huffed Ginny.

**He didn't seem at all upset at almost being knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

"Happy for some," Harry whispered so low, that only Remus (with his wolfy hearing) and Dumbledore, heard him.

"Really! It really is a wonder how we weren't discovered that day. Owls, cloaks, and now saying such things to Muggles!" ranted McGonagall.

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

"His arms fit? I thought they said he was tiny."**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to his spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also had thought he been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

"But imagination is fundamental to raising a child!" Mrs. Weasley said flabbergast.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw - and it didn't improve his mood - was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning.**

"Really Minnie. What are you doing there?" asked Sirius.

Harry winced, he thought he might know.

**It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**

"Minnie," Sirius sang, which got him smack upside the head by Remus. However, no one really noticed this as Hermione had said, "Just like a Rita!" and Harry, Ron, and Hermione laughed loudly.

"What?" snapped McGonagall. Everyone, even Snape though he hid it well, looked curious. Draco glared at them.

"You'll see," Harry said with a mysterious smile.

"**Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.**

"Okay, Okay, we got it." Remus said before Sirius opened his mouth.

**Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

"Scared," coughed Ginny.

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice , normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Doors problem with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't").**

"Lovely."

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

"**And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious.**

"Do you think he's a wizard," Sirius asked.

"That, Muggle born, or related to wizards." Mr. Weasley said. Tonks smiled she knew who it was.

**And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**

"**Well, Ted,**

Tonks giggled.

"Who is it?" asked Remus.

"Dad," she said grinning.

"Really?"

"Yeah. He and mum didn't stop laughing about that for awhile."

**said the weatherman, - I don't know about that, but it's not only owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early - it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise you a wet one tonight."**"That sounds awesome!" the twins said. Harry had a feeling that the Sorting feast would be having shooting stars.

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…**

Harry sighed, "And it never stops, though I wish it would."

Snape repressed a snort, a Potter not liking attention? Yeah right!

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously.**

"**Er- Petunia, dear - you haven't heard from your sister, have you?"**

"**No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

"**Funny things on the news," mumbled. "Owls…shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…"**

"**So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

"**Well, I just thought…maybe…it was something to do with…you know…her crowd."**

"What does that suppose to mean, her crowd?" Mrs. Weasley said shortly.

"He means witch or wizard," Harry said. "All of them are afraid of anything related to our world."

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered weather he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter."**

"Whipped," George said.

**He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son - he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

"Year younger," Harry said automatically.

"**I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

"**What's his name again? Howard isn't it?"**

"**Harry. Nasty common name, if you as me."**

"I disagree. I like it," Ginny said winking at Harry, who blushed. The boys sniggered, Draco looked sick, and Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, and Remus looked smug. They just knew those two would hook up sometime.

"**Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front graden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

"Or someone," McGonagall muttered shooting a glance towards Dumbledore.

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of - well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

Many hissed there anger.

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involded there was no reason for them to come near him**

Harry winced, he didn't like that though. It reminded him of everyone's thoughts on him, he even thought they might keep away from him again.

**and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind.**

Sirius and Remus growled animalistic, Harry sniffed sadly.

**He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on - he yawned and turned over - it couldn;'t effect them…**

"Karma's gonna kick his ar-" Ginny started.

"Ginny!" scolded Mrs. Weasley.

**How very wrong he was.**

"Dun, dun, dunnnnn," said Sirius and the Twins.

"Unfortunetly," Harry said.

"Why do you always make remarks about them?" Tonks asked.

"Don't like them but I'm sure you'll see," he said with his mysterious smile (oh my, not again!) but it was a bit forced. Harry was worried what everyone would say, not to mention do, when they found out about his home life on Privet Drive.

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no signs of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far side corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

"A pain the arse by then," Fred said.

"Literally," George finished. Mrs. Weasley shook her head.

**A man appeared**

"Who?" asked Neville.

"You shall see, Mr. Longbottom," smiled Dumbledore.

**On the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd popped out of the ground.**

"Noooooo, he apperated." Sirius said cheekily.

"Shut up!" people yelled.

**The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. **

"Dumbledore?" Everyone except Harry, McGonagall, and Snape.

**He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

"So you two were the ones who dropped me off," Harry stated not asked.

"Yes," McGonagall said sadly, Dumbledore still didn't look at him!

"May I ask why had to go there?" Harry asked heatedly.

"Is pampered-Potter complaining about his wonderful life?" sneered Snape.

Harry looked at him, his face flushed and gave a dark laugh, "Yes, sir, I would be. And I wouldn't be the only one. But by all means you can go see for yourself."

FLASH

A note fell down and, again, Harry caught it. Harry laughed nervously as he read bit through.

"For the record, what I say is actually in the note."

Everyone looked curious.

"Now, now Sevie we told you not to judge. You don't know Harry. By the way, you only get one warning. This may be hard to believe but you and Harry will understand each other and, I dare say, like each other. Yes it's true Sev, you'll see through Harry's eyes and he'll learn your story. NO MORE JUDGEMENT!

Love,

Family (and a friend?)

Fred and George were laughing hard and didn't notice the death glare Snape was giving them.

"Well that's debatable," Harry said, which earned him a smack from Hermione.

"Owwww that hurt."

"Then shut up."

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him.**

"I agree, sir, cats are funny." Sirius smirked.

**He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter.**

"Yes, that's were the idea came from."

**He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again – the next lamp flickered into darkness.**

All the boys were saying "Cool" and "I want one!"

"Where did you get it Professor?" Hermione asked, intrigued.

"One of my many inventions. There is only one in existence." Dumbledore said, chuckling slightly at some of the boys awed looks.

**Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer,**

"You would think you would name it something more creative," Snape said looking at the headmaster.

"It is actually called a Deluminator. Much better, if I may say so."

**until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him.**

"Stalker," coughed Ginny.

**If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street towards number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it. **

"**Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

"I WAS RIGHT!" shouted Sirius.

"Shut up!" everyone yelled. Even Snape, though Draco and Luna (who was staring the wall) didn't say anything.

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman **

"I do not look severe," McGonagall said, glaring at the book. No one, even Dumbledore, looked at her.

**who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.**

"You would to, sitting on a wall all day," she grumbled. The twins and Sirius gave her a look that said, "No one asked you to."

"**How did you know it was me?" she asked. **

**"My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

The adults tried to stiffel there laughter but kids didn't bother.

"**You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall. "All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

"Yet you didn't stop at any of them." Remus question. Dumbledore didn't answer.

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

"**Oh yes, everyone's been celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You think they'd be a bit more careful, but no – even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window, "I heard it. Flocks of owls . . . shooting stars . . . . Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent – I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

"That's nice," Fred said sarcastically.

"**You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years." **

"Yeah and only for 12-13 years," Harry said darkly.

"Thanks Potter, we didn't know," drawled Draco.

**"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. **

"It'll be a while," Luna said dreamily, making everyone jump.

**"A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?" **

**"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

Everyone shook there head. Dumbledore and his sweets.

"mhhhh, I wish I had some." Dumbledore said.

FLASH

A there was a bag of them on the table in front of him.

"Aha, thank you," he popped one in his mouth with a smile. "Anyone care for one?" he asked holding out the bag.

"Sure," said, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Sirius.

"**A what?" "A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of." "No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. **

"That's because it never is."

**"As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone-" "My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense – for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort." Professor McGonagall flinched,**

So did more than half the people in the room.

"Fear of a name only increases fear in the thing itself," Hermione said.

"That's hypocritical. You don't even say his name," Ron said amused.

"Read!" Harry said before they started a row.

**but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."**

"**I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of." "You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

"Only cause your to noble." Hermione said.

"That sounds like Harry," Ginny said. Harry blushed.

"**Only because you're too – well – noble to use them."**

"**It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

"That much information there," George said rinkling his nose.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer. **

"That's a horrible way to use candy," pouted Fred.

Hermione's eyes teared up as she read on.

"**What they are saying," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are – are – that they're – dead."**

"I didn't know you cared so much," Harry whispered, looking down, he didn't want anyone to see his tears. Sirius put his arm around Harry's shoulders and Hermione squeezed his hand. Snape looked pained at this. Mrs. Weasley was silently crying and Ginny wished she could do something to help Harry.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped. "Lily and James . . . I can't believe it . . . I didn't want to believe it . . . Oh, Albus . . ." **

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder, "I know . . . I know . . ." he said heavily.**

Tears escaped Harry's eyes but he wiped at them quickly.

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. **

**"That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But – he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke – and that's why he's gone." Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

"**It's, it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done . . . all the people he's killed . . . he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding . . . of all the things to stop him . . . but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"**We can only guess," said Dumbledore.**

"You knew," Harry said, his voice trembling.

**"We may never know." Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands, but no numbers; instead little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

"**Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places."**

Harry sat up, he really would like to know.

**"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now." "You don't mean – you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. **

**"Dumbledore – you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son – I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter Come and live here!"**

"Good try Professor but unfortunately I have to wait till I'm 17 to leave that place." Harry said glumly. Snape looked like he wanted to say something, he didn't. Thought they didn't know it, Sirius, Remus and Snape agreed on one thing, something was not right.

"**It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

"Like I'd ever get it. The probably burned it like the others," Harry snorted.

"Others?" Mr. Weasley asked. Harry just jestered toward the book.

"**A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous – a legend – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future – there will be books written about Harry – every child in our world will know his name!"**

"Ah hell no! I can live with the books, not many read them. But a Harry Potter Day! That'd be torture…" Harry ranted.

"Harry calm down, it's not goning to happen. Well maybe if you be You-Know-Who again. Then there might be," Hermione said smirking at Harry's paled face. "I was kidding."

"**Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

"I think an orphange would have been better." Harry laughed.

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes – yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

People made faces.

"That'd just be wrong," Fred said.

"**Hagrid's bringing him." **

"**You think it – wise – to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?" **

Harry held his head up and stuck out his chin, "I trust Hagrid with my life."

"**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore. **

Everyone laughed.

"Harry your like Dumbledore," Luna said in a dreamy voice.

**"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to – what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky – and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them. **

"My bike!" Sirius said with a goofy grin.

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild – long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

"Why's he holding blankets?" Neville and Ron asked.

"It's Harry," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"**Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?" "Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**

Sirius looked ashamed.

"**No problems, were there?" "No, sir – house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

The guys rolled their eyes as the girls went "Awwwwww." Harry just blushed.

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning. "Is that where –?" whispered Professor McGonagall. "Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

"**Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?" "Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. **

"Again, to much information," Fred said.

**Well – give him here, Hagrid – we'd better get this over with."**

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house. "Could I – could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

"I take offence to that," Sirius said. Harry laughed as many rolled there eyes.

**"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"**

"**S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it – Lily an' James dead – an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles –" **

"**Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two.**

Mrs. Weasley turned her head to Dumbledore, glaring, "You left him on a door step?" Everyone looked scared, Luna was unaffected. "He could have gotten sick, rolled off the stage, or gotten kidnapped!"

"Molly, forgive me. But he sits here, quite safe." Dumbledore said, cowering slightly.

**For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out. **

"Harry, you made the twinkle go out." Luna stated.

"**Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations." **

**"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall – Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night. **

**"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply. **

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

**"Good luck, Harry," he murmured. **

"I'll need it." Curios looks went to him.

**He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley . . . . He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter – the boy who lived!"**

"That's it," Hermione said, wiping her eyes. "Who would like to read next?"

"I-" Sirius started but Harry cut him off.

"Why don't we go in a circle, Ron?" Harry asked giving him a look that said, "Take the book."

"Okay, mate, sure." He said taking it from Hermione.

"Chapter 2," he began.


	3. The Vanishing Glass

**Chapter Two**

**The Vanishing Glass**

"What does that mean?" Tonks asked.

"Harry must do accidental magic," Remus said, smirking. Harry tried to look innocent.

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls.**

"I really don't hope it was fateful." Hermione said.

**Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets –**

Everyone laughed at that.

**but now Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.**

"Harry where are you?" Sirius asked. Harry laughed darkly and repeated his line from summer before second year, "I'm in my room, making no noise and pretending I don't exist." Everyone's face showed they were questioning his sanity.

"What do you mean and why is that funny?" McGonagall asked.

"Summer before second year," was all Harry said.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day. "Up! Get up! Now!" **

"Well that's pleasant."

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again. "Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"How can you remember my bike?" Sirius asked surprised.

"I don't know. One of my many talents, I guess," Harry said with a humorless smile.

**His aunt was back outside the door. **

**"Are you up yet?" she demanded. **

**"Nearly," said Harry. **

**"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday." Harry groaned.**

"They made you cook?" Mrs. Weasley asked indignantly.

"Yeah." Harry said.

**"What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door. **

**"Nothing, nothing. . ."**

"Well your not lying," Hermione said. Harry didn't answer he was hoping one this would at least not come up.

**Dudley's birthday – how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. **

Ron shuddered, "Ugh. Why spiders…"

Harry examined the ceiling, "Crap." Remus looked at him questionably.

**Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.**

"WHAT?" Everyone yelled. Harry acted deaf.

"I did not just hear that right, read that again," Remus said, he and Sirius looked murderous. In fact most looked shocked and out-raged. Snape was just be on shock and Draco was dumbfounded.

**Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, …. and that was where he slept.**

Everyone was shouting yelling how they planned to get back at the Dursley's.

Ginny was planning on going there as soon as possible and hexing them from here to Saturn.

Fred, George, and Tonks we planning a quite painful prank.

Sirius had changed into the grim and was running and ripping things that appeared.

McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley were yelling at Dumbledore.

Neville was shocked into silence.

Draco couldn't believe what was happening.

Snape was horrified, to know that the younger Potter had a similar upbringing to his was shocking. His horror showed on his face which confused Harry the most, Snape actually caring?

Luna was even looking into the group.

Hermione and Ron kept asking Harry questions.

BANG

Harry's wand was raised and everyone shut up.

"Will you stop! It's over and done with, there's nothing to be done," he said.

"But, Harry, why didn't you tell us?" Hermione asked.

"No one ever believed me before," Harry said shrugging. "And I didn't care, I'm use to things like that."

"Harry, dear, you can tell us anything," Mrs. Weasley said. Harry smiled at her.

"Harry, what about second year when we picked you up? You had a bedroom then," Fred said.

"After the letters came they moved me," Harry snorted, "I'm sure you'll see why."

No one spoke for a while, lost in there thoughts.

"I believe we should continue, Ron," Hermione said.

'Right"

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. **

People muttered angrily.

**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise – unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

"Better not be you," Remus and Sirius growled.

**Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry,**

There were a few shouts and hissing. Harry smiled, it was good to know he had people who cared for him.

**but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast. Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**

"Nope. That's pure Potter genetics. James was a scrawny little git when we met him and didn't hit a growth spur till 15-16." Sirius said, he and Remus laughed at there memory.

"Then he was just a git," Remus added and more people laughed.

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. **

Snape looked at Harry and for the first time noticed how he was dressed in mostly his school things. School jeans, a t-shirt that was a good 3 sizes to big and trainers that desperately needed to be replaced. He felt something that he thought felt horribly like sympathy

**Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, **

"James," a few said.

**and bright green eyes. **

"Lily/Mum," Harry, Snape and others said.

**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. **

"Mate, I thought you hated that scare," Ron said.

"I do now that I know why I have it and all. Then I just thought it was cool. Also it was the only reminder of my parents, even if it was there death," Harry said with a far away look.

Snape wasn't happy, he always thought Potter wore it like a crown to fame, but after hearing that…well…it sounded so….Lily.

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it. "In the car crash when your parents died," she had said.**

"A CAR CRASH KILL LILY AND JAMES!" Sirius shouted.

Harry turned his face away, that wasn't even that bad. He had grown up being told his parents were drunks and after a while he stopped caring.

"They told you they died in a car crash?" Hermione gasped, shocked.

"No. They basically told me they killed themselves. They said they were drunks," Harry leaned forwards, putting his face in his hands to hide his tears.

"Harry.." Hermione whispered putting her hand on his back and rubbing. No one said anything. What could you saw to a kid who had been told lies most of his life?

After a few maybe five minutes Harry sat up, rubbed at his eyes and said, "I stopped caring after a while you know, just so you know. Well nothing to do about it now. I know the truth, lets continue."

**"And don't ask questions."Don't ask questions – that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

Hermione didn't have the heart to comment.

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon. "Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting. About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way – all over the place.**

"James had the same problem too. There's nothing you can do about it," Remus said, smiling weakly.

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on hi thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel – Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

The boys laughed hard, know what Dudley looked like.

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell. **

**"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

"Spoiled, bullying, prat," Ginny said.

"He's more spoiled the Reg and he was the favorite!" Sirius said in disbelief.

"**Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy." "All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down**

"Hey Remus, don't you take offence to that," Sirius teased.

**his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?"**

"He'll never be a normal child if you give him everything he wants, he want relate to other kids." Mrs. Weasley said sternly.

"Sounds like Malfoy," Ron said, laughing. Draco glared at him.

"I would agree but that insults what little intelligence Malfoy has. Now if you added Crab and Goyle to the mix then it would mean Dudley." Harry corrected him. Draco's glare intensified.

Snape held back a snort, he could picture that.

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. **

**Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty . . . thirty . . ." **

**"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia. **

"He can't even add two!" Tonks said horrified.

**"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled. "Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair. **

"He encourages the boy!" McGonagall said.

"More like he wants Dudley to be exactly like him," Harry said.

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off of a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried. **"**Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction. **

"I still can believe she's a squib," Harry said shaking his head.

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned. **

"Harry, dear, do try to be nicer." Mrs. Weasley reprimed.

"**Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again. **

Sirius growled like a dog at the thought of so many cats.

**"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested. **

**"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy." **

"And I hate her too," Harry said cheekily.

"Is she the one you-" Ron asked, not giving anything away.

"Yup," They both laughed.

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there – or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

Everyone looked mad.

"Harry, James would be horrified at your comparison." Remus said laughing.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"He had a irrational fear of slugs-" Sirius said laughing.

"Fleshing eating ones," Remus finished. Harry joined there laughter, liking learning more of his father.

"**What about what's-her-name, your friend – Yvonne?" "On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia. "You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer). **

"Harry your lucks not that good," George stated.

"Hey. I have equally good and bad luck." Harry said.

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon. **

**"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**

"**I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

"Harry, Harry," Fred said, shaking his head.

"Never admit, -" continued George.

"Nor deny,"

"Anything." They finished together.

"**I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, ". . . and leave him in the car. . . ."**

"What? Is he a dog?" Ginny asked indigantly.

"Hey, I'm right here you know," Sirius pouted.

"So?"

"**That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone. . . ."**

"Yeah worry about the damned car!" Hermione said angrily. Ron hid his smile, she looked so cute when she was mad.

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying – it had been years since he'd really cried – but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

"Bloody git."

"**Dinky Duddydums,**"

No one was left silent, Snape couldn't help but smirk and when Luna started laughing everyone laughed harder.

**Don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him. "I . . . don't . . . want . . . him . . . t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.**

"Bloody kid needs a attitude adjustment." Draco said.

**Just then, the doorbell rang – "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically – and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. **

"How often was that person you?" Sirius growled. Harry mumbled something and Remus, again, looked murderous.

"Harry, answer," Sirius said.

"When they could catch me."

**Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

"Of course," Ginny hissed.

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, **

"Potter, that's bad luck, not good," Draco drawled.

"I meant getting away from the house, school, and Figg's. I wasn't allowed any where away from them," Harry said rolling his eyes.

**on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

"Child molester!" Fred yelled.

"Run Harry!" George added.

"Which one?" Tonks asked. George looked thoughtful for a minute.

"The younger one, but I guess older Harry will have to, too."

"**I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, I'm warning you now, boy – any funny business, anything at all – and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**

"He wouldn't, would he?" Remus asked, his fist clenched. Harry looked away, he wouldn't admit to anything.

"**I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly . . ." **

"Not good, Harry," George said, shaking his head.

"Never deny nor admit to anything," Fred added.

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did. The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**

"That's cause there's this thing, called magic, Potter," Draco sneered.

"No really?" Harry said sarcastically.

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar."**

"Ouch"

**Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses. **

Some gave him sympathetic looks.

**Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.**

"James always loved that," Sirius laughed almost normally. Harry perked up like he always did when he learned more about his parents.

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

"Petunia should know its accidental magic! Bloody hell we told her about it," Snape snapped angrily. That woman! He thought bitterly, she should get past her jealousy of her sister to help Potter. Snape pushed that away quickly, as he relized he was doing the same thing.

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls).**

Everyone made a disgusted face.

"What ever you do to that will be worth it. That thing is ghastly!" Ginny said.

**The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry, Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

"Good job, Harry!"

"Whoa!"

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney.**

"Did you apparate or fly?" Remus asked. Harry thought for a second,

"It think I flew…" he said, trailing off. Snape almost smile. Thinking of Lily and the swing.

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.**

"Harry, Harry, Harry," Fred said, disappointed.

"You need to refine your excuses," George said, equally disappointed.

"Or you'll never get far."

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong.**

"Never tempt fate, Harry," Luna said dreamily.

"Murphy's Law," Hermione added.

**It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects.**

"Wow, he gives me the feeling he doesn't like you," Ginny said bitterly.

"What gave you that idea?"

**This morning, it was motorcycles. ". . . roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

"Yup, that's Sirius," Remus smiled, patting Sirius on the back.

"Tha- Hey!" Sirius said indgnatly. Everyone but Draco and Snape laughed.

**"I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

"Smart one," Ron and Draco said snorted, then looked horrified as they realized what had happened. Everyone laughed, even Snape smirked.

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

"Attractive, that it," Sirius scoffed.

**Dudley and Piers sniggered. "I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream." But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon – they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

"Well, dear Gred. I think we should watch these 'Cartoons'" said Fred.

"I quite agree, Feorge," George said wickedly.

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice-creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop.**

Snape sighed, those had always been Lily's favorite.

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**

"Harry, dear, don't be rude to the gorilla," Mrs. Weasley said sternly. They all looked shocked then burst out laughing.

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him. **

Remus and Sirius growled.

**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

Everyone groaned, except Luna, who was starring off into space.

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can – but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. **

**"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake did not budge. **

**"Do it again," Dudley ordered. **

"Gezz, he can even boss his parents," Mrs. Weasley said disapprovingly.

**Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. **

**"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself – no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house. **

"Harry, seriously? You had to compare your life to a snakes?" Ginny asked exasperatedly.

Harry grinned sheepishly.

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's. It winked. **

"Harry, snakes can't wink. They don't have eyelids." Hermione stated. Harry looked shocked at this discovery.

"You must have read it's body language," Remus said.

"Come to think of it, how are you a Parselmouth?" Sirus asked.

"I believe Voldemort transferred some of his powers to Harry when he tried to kill him the first time." Dumbledore answered.

"That's a comforting thought, Harry has some of You-Know-Who in him," Ron said.

"Always the tactful, Ron." Hermione said, "None of us, especially Harry, don't like that thought."

Many nodded there heads in agreement. Dumbledore looked thoughtful.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too. **

"So you talk back to it, nope, not weird at all," Tonks said, rolling her eyes.

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: "I get that all the time."**

"**I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him.**

**"It must be really annoying." The snake nodded vigorously. **

**"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked. The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

"**Was it nice there?" The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. **

**"Oh, I see – so you've never been to Brazil?"**

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. **

**"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

"Earthquake!" Fred and George shouted. Many sniggered.

"**Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. **

Sirius muttered a few choice words.

**Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened – one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

"What did you do?" Sirius asked excitedly.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come . . . . Thanksss, amigo."**

Everyone was laughing, even Snape let out a low chuckle.

"That was what you meant when you said you set a snake on your cousin," Ron laughed.

"You didn't really set it on him though," Hermione said, smiling.

"In my mind, I did set it on him," Harry said seriously. Hermione raised a eyebrow at him and he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Whatever."

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock. "But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?" The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber.**

**As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

"Idiot, shut up!" Ginny growled.

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go – cupboard – stay – no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

"There going to starve you? Oh dear, no wonder your always so skinny," Mrs. Weasley fretted.

"It is fortunate that Potter is not angry and bitter, after how he grew up," Snape said without his normal sneer. The teens and Sirius looked at him in amazement.

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead.**

"You could remember that?" Hermione asked, horrified.

"Yeah.." he said shrugging.

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

"When did you first see them?" Sirius asked sadly. Harry smiled as he recalled the memory, "First year, I saw them in a mirror. You'll see," he added, not wanting to add anymore.

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family.**

Remus and Sirius looked at each other, "We're sorry," they said.

"We could've -" Sirius started.

"Don't" Harry said firmly. "It's done and I don't blame anyone. So please, let's just leave it."

**Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too.**

"There called Wizards, Harrykins," Fred said slowly as if Harry was five. Harry rolled his eyes.

**A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

"Just confuse the poor boy," scowled McGonagall.

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"You didn't have friends?" Mr. Weasley asked. Harry shook his head.

"At first people tried but then Dudley would get on them so they stayed away. Ron was my first friend. Well unless you count the snake," Harry said trying to lighten the mood.

"Here Gin, your turn," Ron said passing the book to her.


	4. Letters From No one

**Chapter Three**

**Letters from No one**

"How can they be from no one?" Neville asked.

"It must be the Hogwarts letter, Harry should be eleven soon," Hermione said.

"Oh"

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started **

"How long was that?" Sirius asked.

"A month maybe," Harry lied, no way would he say. Hermione tilted her head to the side, "Your lying," she stated.

"So. Doesn't mean I'll tell you," Harry said. Hermione glared and Harry kept his mouth shut.

**and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Fig as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader.**

"Astounding," McGonagall muttered.

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting.**

"Harry Hunting…. That sounds fun!" Fred and George said.

"Oh, yes," Harry said sarcastically.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny.**

"Don't worry Harry, your going to Hogwarts," Luna said causing everyone to jump.

"**They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. **

**"Want to come upstairs and practice?" **

**"No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it – it might be sick."**

"Diffenatly has Lily's cheek," smirked Remus as everyone, except Snape and Draco laughed.

**Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.**

"Bet he never did," Ginny snorted.

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**

"Urgh, the poor chocolate," Remus said disgusted.

"You and your chocolate, Moony." Sirius said laughing.

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. **

Everyone howled with laughter.

**They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**

"How?"

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said that she couldn't believe that it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up. Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**

No one in the room held in there laughter.

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.**

"**What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question. **

**"Your new school uniform," she said. Harry looked in the bowl again. **

**"Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be wet."**

"Sarcasm won't work on her," Snape said.

"Tell me about it," Harry said, then paused as he realized that they had almost be civil with each other.

**"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."**

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High – like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

People scowled at this, it just made them more pissed.

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table. They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat. **

**"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

"He making him do something? Wow," Sirius said.

"Wait for it," Harry murmured

"**Make Harry get it." **

**"Get the mail, Harry." **

**"Make Dudley get it." **

**"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

"The unfairness will never end," Harry said to himself, shaking his head, though that didn't stop the others from hearing.

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and – a letter for Harry.**

"What a shocking discovery," Draco sneered.

"It definitely was a shock," Harry said vagley, "I'd never gotten a letter before…"

Remus and Sirius silently cursed there reasons for not being there for him. To them, they had failed James and Lily. They weren't there to give Harry the love and encouragement he deserved.

"Don't," Harry said firmly as he caught the pain and shame on there faces.

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives – **

"Har-" Remus began.

"I said 'Don't'! And that's final, if you need forgiveness than I forgive but it wasn't your guys fault so stop it." Harry said, his voice serious and they all could hear the emotion. Mrs. Weasley was trying not to cry.

**he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back.**

They all looked sad, though Snape still tried to fight it and Draco wouldn't eknowledge.

**Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake: **

**Mr. H. Potter **

**The Cupboard under the Stairs 4 Privet Drive **

**Little Whinging **

**Surrey**

"Did no one notice that?" Ginny asked outraged.

"No one really see's the letters. They're written by a enchanted quill," Hermione said equally outraged.

"We'll have to start checking the letters," McGonagall said, she couldn't believe they hadn't known. Dumbledore agreed, this was the second student that he'd learned more about and there home life's was horrible. Then there was Tom, who made his life worse. He'd have to try harder.

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. **

Sirius shuddered, "To much damn green." Remus rolled his eyes.

"Get over it, Sirius."

"What?" Harry asked.

"Slytherin," Sirius answered with another shudder. Causing more adults and Slytherins to roll there yes.

**There was no stamp. **

"What are stamps," Draco asked (surprisingly). After the inetsail shock Harry said, "Something Muggles put on letters. You'll hear more of them in the summer before 4th year," his sentence ending grimly.

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H. **

People were on the edge of there seats.

"**Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke. **

"Soooo funny," George snorted.

**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope. **

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard. **

"**Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…" **

"**Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!" **

"Git"

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter,**

Hermione slapped Harry's arm, "Idiot!"

"Ow, what did I do," Harry asked rubbing his arm.

"How come you didn't open it in the hall?" She asked with a eyebrow raised.

Harry smiled sheepishly.

**which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon. **

"**That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.**

"**Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge.**

"That disgusting," Draco said.

"**P-P-Petunia!" he gasped. **

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise. **

"**Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!"**

"Drama Queens."

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick. **

Mrs. Weasley huffed. She really hated how that boy acted.

"**I want to read that letter," he said loudly. **

"Why should you? Its not yours!" Remus snapped.

"**I want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine." **

"**Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope. **

**Harry didn't move. **

"**I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

"Deffinetly Lily's temper," Sirius laughed. Ron and Hermione grimaced, thinking of when he had arrived at Grimmaulds.

"Out have know idea," Hermione said, causing people to laugh.

"**Let me see it!" demanded Dudley. **

"**OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole;**

"Go Harry!" Most of the kids shouted.

**Dudley won, so Harry,**

"Awwwwww," they groaned.

"Hey! He could have sat on me!" Harry said defending himself.

**his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor. **

"**Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address — how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?" **

"**Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**

"No one cares enough to spy on you, they spy on Harry," Fred said cheerfully, making Harry glare at him.

"**But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want —" **

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen. **

"**No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer… Yes, that's best… we won't do anything…" **

A few snorted. Like that'll work, he's Harry Potter, they thought.

"**But —" **

"**I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

Sirius and Remus growled, Mrs. Wealsey and McGonagall looked murderous, the teens looked sadly at Harry, Harry wasn't fazed.

"Stamp. It. Out." Snape said through gritted teeth.

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard. **

"**Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. **

"He fit?" Ginny said incredulously.

**"Who's writing to me?" **

"**No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. **

"**I have burned it." **

They all looked out raged.

"**It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it." **

"**SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. **

Ron shuddered.

**He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful. **

**Er — yes, Harry — about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… you're really getting a bit big for it… we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom. **

"HE HAS A SECOND BEDROOM WHILE YOU LIVE IN CUPBOARD?" Mrs. Weasley practically screamed. Everyone, even Dumbledore, cowered away from her.

"Theres also a guest room," Harry said quietly. Mrs. Weasley took a deep breathe and became quiet, when she had seen Harry's scared exppression she had become sympathetic and caring. Though they all knew anything might set her off.

"Why'd you tell her," Ron whispered to Harry.

"She'd find out anyways, why not get it over with," He hissed back.

"**Why?" said Harry. **

"Why question it?" Sirius asked.

"He was being…er…nice," Harry said awkwardly, nice wasn't really a word to describe his Uncle.

"**Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now." **

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors**

Mrs. Weasley breathed deeper as everyone looked expectantly.

**(usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom.**

**It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room.**

Sympathetic glances.

**He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it.**

"Merlins, that kids fat," Tonks said.

**Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**

Hermione looked incredulous, what a waste!

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't want him in there… I need that room… make him get out…"**

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**

Snape nodded his head absently, he knew the feeling.

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly. **

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it. **

**They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive —'"**

Everyone laughed.

"What a idiot."

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind. **

"Choke him, Harry!" Fred yelled.

"FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!"

**After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick,**

Everyone laughed.

**Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand. **

"**Go to your cupboard — I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley — go — just go." **

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan. **

Ron and Hermione groaned. Sirius gave a huge smirk, "I like the sounds of this."

"You would but your end in disaster," Remus laughed.

"Hey!" Sirius said pouting.

"So does Harry's," Ron and Hermione said laughing.

"Hey! You normally go along with those plans," Harry said pouting.

"True," They sighed. Harry smirked.

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights. **

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first. **

"A good plan," Sirius said smiling.

"Glad I have the Marauder seal of approval," Harry said, also smiling.

"No plan can go on without it."

"**AAAAARRRGH!"**

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat — something alive! **

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face.**

Everyone burst out laughing.

**Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink. **

"**I want —" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes. **

"That's cruel."

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. **

**He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot. **

"**See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up." **

"**I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon." **

"**Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him. **

"And we're glad of that," Ginny said.

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom. **

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. **

**He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises. **

"Now the FLOWERS!" Sirius said loudly.

"What?" Tonks asked.

"First green and now flowers," He said.

"Just ignore it," Remus whispered loudly. Sirius pouted.

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two-dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor. **

"**Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

"Everyone," the teens said, except Luna, who was now staring at each person in turn.

"What?" Harry asked shocked.

"Seriously, Potter, do you really not know how famous you are?" Draco asked pompously.

Harry shuddered "I don't think I want to know."

"Are you sure," George said leaning in and giving a mock pyshcologist look. Harry glared at him.

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy. **

"**No post on Sundays,"**

"Really," Mr. Wealsey said.

"Muggle thing."

**he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today —" **

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one .**

"Why not pick one up off the ground?" Hermione asked. Harry blushed.

"Seeker instincts," Ginny said, winking at him, which made him blush more.

"As touching as this moment is, lets move on," George said making Mrs. Wealsey scowl.

"**Out! OUT!" **

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall.**

"Child abuse," Mrs. Weasley snarled.

**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor. **

"**That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. **

**"I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!" **

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag. **

"He's actually trying to run," McGonagall said.

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while. **

"**Shake 'em off… shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

"Paranoid git."

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day.**

Remus, Sirius, and Mrs. Weasley muttered unhappily.

**By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer. **

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering… **

"Wondering what?" Neville asked.

"Probably who was sending the letter," Harry said after thinking a moment.

"So thinking about a quill?" Hermione giggled.

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table. **

"'**Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk." **

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address: **

**Mr. H. Potter **

**Room 17 **

**Railview Hotel **

**Cokeworth **

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way.**

**The woman stared. **

"**I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room. **

"That's illegal," Hermione huffed.

"**Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her.**

"He really should listen to her," Mr. Weasley said.

**Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage. **

"**Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon. **

Sirius barked a laugh, "Even his son realizes theres no hope in running."

**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared. **

**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled. **

"**It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television." **

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday — and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television — then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday. **

"Happy Birthday Harry!" Sirius and Remus shouted.

Harry blushed, "Guys thanks but this was years ago."

Sirius and Remus pouted, Sirius pulling a puppy face.

"But we missed 12 birthdays," Sirius said.

Harry groaned, "Fine, thank you."

The other teens were sniggering.

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun — last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. **

**Still, you weren't eleven every day. **

"No, your not 11 for 365 days," Hermione said smirking.

"Stop being so smart," Harry said sticking his tongue at her, which made her slap him aside the head.

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. **

"First sign that something was wrong," Harry muttered.

**He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought. **

"**Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!" **

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there.**

"**Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!" **

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them. **

"**I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!" **

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house. **

Everyone looked darkly at the book.

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms. **

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas. **

Sirius and Ron looked outraged.

**He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up.**

"**Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. **

**Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all. **

"Stop being a pessimist," Sirius said.

"Live my life and see what happens," Harry said.

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket. **

Mrs. Weasley and McGonagall growled.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now. **

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did. **

"You also be crushed," Luna said.

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow. **

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?**

Everyone was on the edge of their seats.

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds… twenty… ten… nine — maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him**

"Do it, do it, do it," The twins quietly chanted.

— **three… two… one… **

**BOOM. **

Ginny yelled as loud as possible. Remus covered his ears and half-heartedly glared at her, that really did hurt his ears.

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

"Who?" People asked as Ginny stopped.

"Well?" Ron said. Ginny remand quiet.

"Read already." Ron said impatiently.

"That was the end of the chapter," Ginny said smirking smugly. Ron glared.

"Fred your next," Chucking the book at him.

"Fiesty now are we," Fred said, Ginny stuck her tongue at him.


	5. Keeper of the Keys

**Chapter 4**

**The Keeper of the Keys**

Fred read.

**Boom. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake. "Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly. There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands – **

"With two kids in that place! He brings a damned gun? He could've killed some one!" Hermione screeched.

"She swore," Ron said, gaping at her. Hermione had threw herself back into her chair and folded her arms.

"I think we better continue," Harry whispered.

**now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**

"**Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you – I'm armed!" There was a pause. Then – **

**SMASH!**

"MERLINS!" Remus yelled, "I have highly sensitive ears, Warn me before you start yelling." Fred grinned.

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor. A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair. **

"Deffinetly a scary sight at first," Sirius said laughing.

"**Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey. . . ." **

"Typical Hagrid," Most said fondly.

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear. **

**"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

"Like his mother could hide him," McGonagall said.

"**An' here's Harry!" said the giant.**

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile. **

**"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."**

"First time I heard that," Harry said, "And now I always hear it."

"Well technically it's the first time you remember hearing it," Sirius said with a small smile.

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise. **

**"I demand that you leave at once, sir! You are breaking and entering!"**

"**Ah , shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

"Good, now theres less chance someone will get hurt," Hermione said, Harry raised a eyebrow as if to say, 'That's what you think.'

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

"**Anyway – Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here – I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written in green icing.**

"I wouldn't eat it though," George said.

"Actually, it wasn't that bad," Harry said smiling happily.

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

"Show some tact, Harry," Hermione said disapprovingly.

"Well at lest I'm not as bad as Ron," Harry said grinning at his mate.

"Hey!"

"True," Hermione said, also smiling.

**The giant chuckled. "True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm. **

**"What about tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind." **

"You will not drink in front of Harry," Mrs. Weasley said sternly.

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea. **"Merlins, he has deep pockets," Mr. Weasley said as Mrs. Weasley huffed.

**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**

"Like Hagrid is gonna give him anything," Ron snorted.

**The giant chuckled darkly. **

**"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry." He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. **

**Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."**

"That's better," Hermione said approvingly, Harry rolled his eyes.

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. **"**Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts – yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."**"**Er – no," said Harry. Hagrid looked shocked. "Sorry," Harry said quickly.**

"Why? It's not your fault," Ron asked.

"Well normally if I made some one mad, I get in trouble, and Hagrid was too huge to not worry," Harry said chuckling.

**"Sorry?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows."It's them as should be sorry! I knew that yeh weren't getting' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?""All what?" asked Harry. "ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered.**"Ears," Lupin shouted. "Oh," Harry said, he had forgotten. "Theres a lot of yelling in this chapter."**"Now wait jus' one second!" He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**Lots of sniggering.

"**Do you mean ter tell me, " he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy – this boy! - knows nothin' abou' – about ANYTHING?" **

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad. **

**"I know some things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."**

Everyone laughed at Harry's indignation, even Snape's mouth twitched as he remembered Lily when she thought he had insulted her by being called a Witch.

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world."**

**"What world?" **

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode. "DURSLEY!" he boomed. Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.**

"**But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said, "I mean, they're famous. You're famous."**

**"What? My – my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"**

**"Yeh don't know . . . yeh don' know . . ." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

"**Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally.**

"What are you Harry? We've always wondered…." Fred said trailing off. Harry chucked a pillow at him.

"He's apparently hostile," George said laughing at his twin, he also got hit with a pillow.

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice. "Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!" **

Everyone snorted.

"Rather ignorant, isn't he," Luna said.

**A man braver than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage. **

**"You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"**

"**Kept what from me?" Harry said eagerly. **

"Is little Harry eager?" George said, him and Fred raising a suggestive eyebrow. Harry blushed.

"You two are perves," Ginny said rolling her eyes.

**"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic. Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror. **

**"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry – yer a wizard."**

"Bluntly said," Dumbledore said, he had rather quiet and upset with how Harry was living.

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

"Awwww there should've been crickets," Hermione mockingly whined.

"That's for akward silences, this is for dramatic scenes," Harry said.

"**I'm a what?" gasped Harry.**

**"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's about' time yeh read yer letter." **

"Yes!" The teens shouted.

"You really are like your parents," Remus said smiling, Sirius nodded in agreement. Harry smiled happily.

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read:**

"Stupid green," Sirius muttered.

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International confed. of Wizards)**

**Dear Mr. Potter,**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely,**

**Minerva McGonagall,**

**Deputy Headmistress**

"Hey! That's exactly like James's letter," Sirius said brightly.

"I wonder about you sometimes….no a lot," Remus said looking concern at Sirius.

"At least you think about me," Sirius said sappily.

"Idiot."

"But you love me!"

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. **

**After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?" **

"Nice first question, mate," Ron said patting Harry on the back.

"It was the last thing I read!" Harry pouted.

**"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl – a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl – **

"A live owl!" Ginny screeched.

**a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down: **

**Dear Professor Dumbledore, **

**Given Harry his letter. Taking him to buy his things tomorrow. Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.**

**Hagrid**

"How can read his reading upside down? I can barely reading as it is!" Ron said.

"He pays a tension," Hermione said sticking out her tongue. Ron huffed.

"I do to."

"When?"

"Ah- a lot."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Please continue reading," Harry said.

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly. **

**"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the light. **

**"He's not going," he said. **

"There really is no point in trying to stop you," McGonagall said.

"Really?" Harry asked.

"I'd have either sent someone or gone myself to get you," Dumbledore said.

"Oh."

**Hagrid grunted. "I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said. **

**"A what?" said Harry, interested. **

**"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**

"**We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"**

Snape clutched his fist, breaking the skin.

"**You knew?" said Harry, "You knew I'm a – a wizard?"**

**"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that – that school – and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was – a freak!**

Everyone looked outraged, though Harry and Snape looked murderous.

**But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!" She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years. **

"She has," Snape hissed.

"**Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as – as – abnormal – and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**

**Harry had gone very white.**

Ginny got up and sat between Harry and Hermione. Putting her arm around Harry, who had gone completely still.

Harry had a hard time hearing this, after all it was a horrible way for anyone to learn something like this.

**As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!" **

**"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid,**

Everyone looked murderous at the reminders of the lies Harry was told.

**jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!" **

**"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious. **

**"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble getting' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh – but someone's gotta – yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."**

"That would've been funny," The twins said grinning.

"Really? The first person I met was Malfoy, who knows what he would've told me," Harry said. Draco started to glare but then realized it was probably true and shrugged.

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys. **

**"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh – mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it . . . ." He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with – with a person called – but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows –" **

"**Who?" **

**"Well – I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does." **

**"Why not?" **

**"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went . . . bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was. . ." Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

**"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested. **

"**Nah – can't spell it. All right – Voldemort." **

People flinched.

"Wow you got him to say his name," Neville said.

"Its just a name, not even his real name," Harry said giving Sirius and Remus a look.

"VOLDEMORT!" They yelled as loud as possible, laughing as the others jumped, screamed, fell.

**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this – this wizard about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too – some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches . . .terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him – an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway."**

Harry closed his eyes, re-living it even if he didn't want to.

"**Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before . . . probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side. Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em . . . maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' – an'-" **

Everyone was grieving for the memory and more hurt to come.

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn. **

**"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad – knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find – anyway . . .**

**You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then – an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing – he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then.**

"Doesn't make sense," Harry muttered to himself. "Should've realized it before.."

"What?" Remus asked, having heard Harry.

"He was after me, not her. But why?" Harry continued to himself as though Remus hadn't talked.

"Just continue," Hermione said, thinking she'd work it out of Harry later.

"No," Harry said firmly, "Was it because of me?" He said looking at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore hesitated for a seconded and then said, "If you don't learn here, I shall tell you," He said gravely.

**But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh – took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even – but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age – the McKinnons, the Bones,the Prewetts –**

Mrs. Weasley stiffled a sob.

**an' you was only a baby, an' you lived." Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before – and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.**

"Nooooo," Harry groaned as he heard Voldemort's laugh from the graveyard.

"Its okay Harry," Ginny whispered in his ear.

**Hagrid was watching him sadly. "Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot . . ."**

**"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

"**Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured – and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion – asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types – just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end –"**

"You arse!" Yelled Ginny, Sirius, Remus, and Snape.

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat.**

**Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you Dursley – I'm warning you – one more word . . ." **

Everyone grinned in anticipation.

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

"**That's better," said Hagrid breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor. Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them. **

**"But what happed to Vol-, sorry – I mean, You-Know-Who?"**

"**Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see . . . he was getting' more an' more powerful – why'd he go? Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. **

Dumbledore tilled his head, he had to agree. But he still hoped he was wrong and he also hoped he would find out more in these books.

**Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back. Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on – I dunno what it was, no one does – but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

"And again-" George said.

"And again-" Fred continued.

"And again-"

"And he'll do it again," The finished smugly.

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. **

"A lot of people respect you," Hermione said.

"And the majority think a nutter," Harry said smiling.

**A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**

"Doesn't work that way, Potter," Draco said, without his usual drawl.

"**Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard." **

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled. "Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?" Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it . . . every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry . . . chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach . . . dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back . . . and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him. **

**"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard – you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

"Unfortunetly," Harry muttered. Fred and George pulled awed faces and stared at Harry. After a few seconds Harry noticed.

"What?" They kept staring.

"Stop that!" Ginny smacked them.

"Owww." They pouted.

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight. **

**"Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish – spell books and wands and -"**

**"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled -" **

Harry grinned maliciously.

"**I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

"Bad move," Ron laughed along with the other teens.

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER -" he thundered, "-INSULT – ALBUS – DUMBLEDORE – IN – FRONT – OF – ME!" **

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley – there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

Everyone burst out laughing, some falling out of there seats. Mrs. Weasley fought a smile and Snape and Dumbledore gave small smirks.

It took almost 5 minutes before they could control themselves.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them. Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard. **

**"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."**

People chuckled.

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows. **

**"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm – er- not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff – one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job -" **

**"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**

"We never did find out how he got expelled," Sirius said pouting.

"Neither have we," The twins said.

"We did," Ron and Harry said, Hermione rolled her eyes but nodded.

**Oh, well – I was at Hogwarts meself but I –er – got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore." **

**"Why were you expelled?"**

"Always curious," Hermione said.

"So are you," Harry retorted.

"Just like Lily," Remus said smiling.

"**It's getting' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. **

"Horrible at changing the subject, as always," Tonks said.

**"Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that." He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry. "You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."**

"That's the end," Fred said. "Here you go Georgie." Handing the book to George.

"I'm hungry," Ron and Sirius said.

"If I'm right, we go to Diagon Alley next. I think we should finish the next and then eat." Harry said.

"Come on," Ron pouted and Sirius pulled a puppy face.

"Go get a snack," Mrs. Weasley said.

They ran to the kitchen.


	6. Diagon Alley

"Bring some for everyone," Mrs. Weasley called.

"Yeah, Yeah!" Sirius called back. Ron and Sirius came back with there arms loaded with sweets and butter beer. Everyone took this and that and then George grabbed the book again and started.

**Chapter 5**

"**Diagon Alley,"**

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight. **

**It was a dream, he told himself firmly. I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard. **

"You should try to be positive Harry," Luna said dreamily.

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise. **

**And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, Harry thought, his heart sinking.**

"Depressing," Snape muttered.

**But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.**

**Tap. Tap. Tap. **

"**All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up." **

**He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak. **

**Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. He went straight to the window and jerked it open. **

**The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat. **

"**Don't do that." **

**Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat. **

"Those things are vicious if you try and mess with it," Sirius said gravely.

"Well you shouldn't have tried and make it carry James away," Remus said laughing.

"What? I was just paying it," Sirius said innocently.

"I didn't won't him," Remus continued laughing.

"Yeah it wanted my skin," Sirius shuddered. Everyone was laughing at this.

"**Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl —" **

"**Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.**

"HE won't know how," Mr. Weasley said.

"**What?" **

"**He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets." **

**Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets — bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags… finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins. **

"**Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily. **

"**Knuts?" **

"**The little bronze ones." **

**Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window. **

**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched. **

"**Best be off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school." **

**Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**

"Awww, not the happy balloon!" Fred cried.

"**Um — Hagrid?" **

"**Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots. **

"**I haven't got any money — and you heard Uncle Vernon last night… he won't pay for me to go and learn magic." **

"**Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?" **

"**But if their house was destroyed —" **

"**They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold — an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither." **

"**Wizards have banks?" **

"Muggles don't?" Draco asked.

"They do," Hermione said promply.

"**Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins." **

**Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding. **

"**Goblins?" **

"Evil things" Sirius muttered.

"Do you have a issue with everything that comes in contact with you." Ginny asked.

"Not everything, just most things," He said smiling.

'He means everything' Remus mouthed.

"**Yeah — so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. **

**Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe — 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you — gettin' things from Gringotts — knows he can trust me, see." **

"I really can," Dumbledore said fondly.

"**Got everythin'? Come on, then." Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm. **

"**How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat. **

"**Flew," said Hagrid. **

"**Flew?" **

"**Yeah — but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh." **

**They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying. **

"That really is hard to believe," Neville said.

"**Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter — er — speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?" **

"**Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land. **

"**Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked. **

"**Spells — enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way — Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat." **

"There goes are plans," Fred sighed, George looked dejected. Mrs. Weasley looked stern.

**Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life. **

"**Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page. **

"And it just got worse here," McGonagall said angrily.

"**There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself. **

"'**Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice." **

"**But what does a Ministry of Magic do?" **

"**Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

"**Why?" **

"**Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone." **

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street. **

**Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?" **

McGonagall hissed as everyone chuckled.

"**Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?" **

"**Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon." **

"And he gets it," Hermione grumbled. As Harry laughed and Ron rubbed his hand.

"**You'd like one?" **

"**Wanted one ever since I was a kid — here we go." **

**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.**

**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent. **

"**Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches. **

**Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket. **

"**Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need." **

**Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read: **

"Do we have to read this," Tonks whined.

FLASH

A note fell (Guess who caught it)

YES YOU HAVE TO READ IT

"Well that was blunt," Dumbledore said.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY **

**UNIFORM **

**First-year students will require: **

**1. Three sets of plain work robes (black) **

**2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear **

**3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar) **

**4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings) **

**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags **

**COURSE BOOKS **

**All students should have a copy of each of the following: **

**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)by Miranda Goshawk **

**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot **

**Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling **

**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch **

**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore **

**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger **

**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander **

**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble **

**OTHER EQUIPMENT **

**1 wand **

**1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) **

**1 set of glass or crystal phials **

**1 telescope set **

**1 brass scales **

**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad **

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS **

"They really should remove that rule," George pouted.

"**Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud. **

"**If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid. **

**Harry had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow. **

"**I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops. **

**Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?**

"That'd be hard for someone who doesn't approve of imagination," McGonagall snorted.

**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him. **

"**This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place." **

**It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.**

"You always see things oddly," Hermione said questionably. Harry stuck her tongue out at her.

"Very mature," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"But you love me," Harry said.

"That's debatably." Hermione said evily.

**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside. **

"And all becomes quiet."

**For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?" **

"**Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle. **

"**Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this — can this be —?" **

**The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent. **

"**Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter… what an honor." **

**He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes. **

"**Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back." **

**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming. **

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

"Torture, torture," Harry muttered.

"**Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last." **

"**So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud." **

"**Always wanted to shake your hand — I'm all of a flutter." **

"**Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle." **

"**I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. **

**"You bowed to me once in a shop." **

"**He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. **

**"Did you hear that? He remembers me!" Harry shook hands again and again — Doris Crockford kept coming back for more. **

"They all adore you," Mrs. Weasley said fonlym aking Harry blush and the boys to snigger.

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching. **

"**Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts." **

"**P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you." **

Harry gave a dark look toward the book, Ron hissed, and Hermione folded her arms angrily.

"Asshole," Harry said.

"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley said shocked. Harry ignored her.

"**What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?" **

"**D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. **

"**N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. **

"You should be," Hermione said viciously.

**"You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought. **

"That and other adding facters," Harry said.

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble. **

"**Must get on — lots ter buy. Come on, Harry." **

**Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds. **

**Hagrid grinned at Harry. **

"**Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh — mind you, he's usually tremblin'." **

"Horrible to learn from," Fred said.

"**Is he always that nervous?" **

"**Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience… They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag — never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject — now, where's me umbrella?" **

**Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can. **

"**Three up… two across…" he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry." **

**He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella. **

**The brick he had touched quivered — it wriggled — in the middle, a small hole appeared — it grew wider and wider — a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight. **

"**Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley." **

"Dramatic."

**He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall. **

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons — All Sizes — Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver — Self-Stirring — Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them. **

"**Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first." **

**Harry wished he had about eight more eyes.**

"I felt the same," Hermione said dreamily.

**He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad…"**

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand — fastest ever —" **

Harry smiled happily at the mention of his old broom.

**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon… **

"**Gringotts," said Hagrid. **

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was — **

"**Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. **

**He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them: **

**Enter, stranger, but take heed **

**Of what awaits the sin of greed, **

**For those who take, but do not earn, **

**Must pay most dearly in their turn. **

**So if you seek beneath our floors **

**A treasure that was never yours, **

**Thief, you have been warned, beware **

**Of finding more than treasure there. **

"I always liked that poem," Luna said.

"**Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.**

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter. **

"**Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe." **

"**You have his key, sir?" **

"**Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, **

**and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits **

"Bet the Goblin liked that," George laughed.

**over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals. **

"**Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key. **

**The goblin looked at it closely. **

"**That seems to be in order." **

"**An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."**

"Hmf! So that's how you three found out," McGonagall said.

"Not really," Harry said.

"With Miones help," Ron said.

"And some clues," Harry continued.

"Wait! Moine?" Hermione asked. Ron turned slightly pink.

"Well, yeah, we sometimes call you that," Ron said.

"I like it," Hermione smiled.

Everyone else watched in amused, fond, or disgusted looks.

**The goblin read the letter carefully. **

"**Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"**

**Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall. **

"**What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked. **

"**Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."**

"Just made me more curious," Harry said smirking.

**Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in — Hagrid with some difficulty — and were off. **

**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. **

**The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering. **

**Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late **— **they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor. **

"**I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

Hermione and Remus opened there mouthes to answer.

"I know now," Harry said hastily before they answered.

"**Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick." **

"Not what I was going to say," Remus said.

"Nor me," Hermione pouted.

**He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling. **

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts. **

"**All yours," smiled Hagrid. **

**All Harry's — it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London. Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag. **

"**The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. **

**"Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"**

"Poor Hagrid," Ginny said sympathetically.

"**One speed only," said Griphook. **

**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**

"You have no fear," Ginny said rolling her eyes.

"I wanted to know what's below," Harry said sheepishly.

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole. **

"**Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away. **

"**If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook. **

"**How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked. **

"**About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin. **

"I don't particularly like this goblin," Neville said.

"I haven't really seen him since," Harry said vaguely.

**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least **— **but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. **

**Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask. **

"**Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid. **

**One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life — more money than even Dudley had ever had. **

"**Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. **

**"Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous. **

"Enters me," Draco said proudly.

"Not such a greet entrice for you Malfoy," Harry said.

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve. **

"**Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here — another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."**

**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length. **

"**Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?" **

"**Yes," said Harry. **

"**My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. **

"What's the point in looking at wands for someone?" Hermione asked. People shrugged.

**He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow." **

McGonagall looked disapproving.

**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley. **

Draco glared at Harry.

"**Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on. **

"**No," said Harry. **

"**Play Quidditch at all?" **

"**No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**

Sirius looked horrified.

"**I do — Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?" **

"**No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute. **

"**Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" **

"I'd leave if I was in Slytherin," Sirius said darkly.

"You've made it clear Sirius," Remus said. Harry was shifting uncomfortably during this. He was scared of what everyone would say when they heard his sorting.

"**Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting. **

"**I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in. **

"**That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts." **

"**Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**

"**He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second. **

"Never ends," Ron said smirking. Hermione scowled and Harry tried, and failed, to look innocent.

"**Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage **— **lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed." **

"**I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly. **

"Go Harry!"

"Show him up!"

Everyone glared at Draco, and cheered Harry.

"**Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?" **

"**They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy. **

"**Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. **

"**But they were our kind, weren't they?" **

People hissed their displeasure.

"**They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean." **

"**I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?" **

"Ate your words, eh?" Sirius said darkly.

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool. **

"**Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy. **

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts). **

"You depressed him," Ginny growled.

"**What's up?" said Hagrid. **

"**Nothing," Harry lied. **

**They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?" **

Sirius grinned happily.

"**Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know — not knowin' about Quidditch!" **

"**Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's. **

"— **and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in —" **

"**Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were **— **he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles — look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!" **

"That is a very good point," Dumbledore said.

"You remind me of Lily, Hermione," Remus said.

"And like this guy," Sirius said messing up Remus's hair. Hermione blushed. Harry smiled at Hermione.

"**So what is Quidditch?" **

"**It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like — like soccer in the Muggle world — everyone follows Quidditch — played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls — sorta hard ter explain the rules." **

"No it's not," said Harry, Ginny, Sirius, Ron, Fred, George, and Draco.

"**And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" **

"**School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but —" **

"**I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily. **

"Nothing wrong with Hufflepuffs," Neville huffed.

"**Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."**

"**Vol-, sorry —You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?" **

"**Years an' years ago," said Hagrid. **

**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian. **

"**I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley." **

"You are truly the next generation of Marauders," Sirius said. Snape shuddered at that.

"Sorry Sirius but I don't cause the trouble, trouble finds me," Harry said laughing.

"Still counts."

Harry and Remus rolled their eyes.

"**I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level." **

**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop). **

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again. **

"**Just yer wand left — A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present." **

"Hedwig!" Harry said.

**Harry felt himself go red. **

"**You don't have to —" **

"**I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at**— **an' I don' like cats,they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'." **

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell. **

"Your not like him," Hermione hissed.

"**Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now — only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand." **

**A magic wand… this was what Harry had been really looking forward to. **

"I think that's everyone's favorite part," Tonks said.

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. **

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic. **

"How can you feel magic?" Hermione asked impressed.

"How is that possible?" Remus asked also impressed.

"That is rather intriguing…" Dumbledore said. Harry just blushed."**Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair. **

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop. **

"**Hello," said Harry awkwardly. **

"**Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." **

"Its wonderful how he can remember all of them," Luna said.

**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy. **

People nodded in agreement.

"**Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."**

"He definitely was his favorite, not to mention best, subject," Remus said with a sad smile. McGonagall also was smiling sadly.

**Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes. **

"**And that's where…" **

**Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger. **

"**I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands… well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do…" **

**He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid. **

"**Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again… Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?" **

"**It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid. **

"**Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern. **

"**Er — yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly. **

"**But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply. **

"No, not at all," George said.

"**Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke. **

"Lier!" Fred yelled.

"**Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now — Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?" **

"**Er — well, I'm right-handed," said Harry. **

"**Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." **

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own.**

"Only just realized?" Draco sneered.

"**That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave." **

**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once. **

"**Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —" **

**Harry tried — but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander. **

"**No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."**

**Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become. **

"How many?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"I don't know, but it took forever," Harry said.

"**Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." **

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. **

"There we are," Remus said proudly.

**He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. **

**Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…" **

"What?" People asked. Harry stiffened he had forgotten about the connection.

"Its okay, Harry," Ginny whispered in his ear, grabbing his hand. To Harry's surprise, he felt comforted.

**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious… curious…" **

"**Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?" **

**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare. **

"**I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar."**

Everyone gasped.

"You will learn more later, I believe," Dumbledore said before they all asked question.

**Harry swallowed. **

"**Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember… I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great." **

**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop. **

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap. **

"Awww, that's sweet," Ginny said. Harry blushed.

**Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder. **

"**Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said. **

**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow. **

"I remember the feeling," Hermione said.

"**You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid. **

**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life — and yet — he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.**

"**Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. **"**All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander… but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry — I mean, the night my parents died." **

Snape really hated how this was trying to change his view on the kid.

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile. **

"**Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts — I did — still do, 'smatter of fact."**

"Its true," Harry said smiling, "I've had my best and worst times there, but its home."

**Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope. **

"**Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September — King's Cross — it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me…. See yeh soon, Harry." **

**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

"That's that," George said.

"FOOD!" Ron and Sirius said and ran towards the kitchen.


	7. Journey from Platform 9 and 34

It took a good half hour for everyone to eat and settle down. Everyone was talking of what they had read and how they would take revenge. Pointedly Fred, George, Sirius, and Ginny.

Once they got back to the room Neville picked up the book.

"Ready?" he asked. There were nodded heads.

"Okay,"

**Chapter 6**

**The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters**

**Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun. True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him — in fact, they didn't speak to him at all. **

**Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty. **

"That's horrible," Mrs. Weasley said. Harry shrugged.

**Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while. **

**Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in A History of Magic. His school books were very interesting. **

"Noooooo! You went to the dark side!" Fred cried.

"We can no longer say we're related to you," George said sadly.

"Hey! In my defence I just wanted to believe it really was true," Harry pouted.

"Well," The twins said contemplating.

"I guess that's alright," The said.

**He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice.**

**Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first. **

"I did too," Sirius said upset. Snape just caught himself before he nodded his agreement.

**On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day, so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room. **

Everyone giggled and chuckled.

"**Er — Uncle Vernon?" **

**Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening. **

"**Er — I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to — to go to Hogwarts." **

**Uncle Vernon grunted again. **

"**Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?" **

**Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes. **

"**Thank you." **

**He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke. **

"**Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?" **

"Illegal."

**Harry didn't say anything. **

"**Where is this school, anyway?" **

"**I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket. **

"Some where in Scotland." Hermione said.

"**I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he read. **

**His aunt and uncle stared. **

"**Platform what?" **

"**Nine and three-quarters." **

"**Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters." **

"**It's on my ticket." **

"**Barking," said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother." **

"**Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly. **

"At least you try," Mrs. Weasley said sadly.

**Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings." **

**Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. **

"Geezz Harry relax, nothing to be nervous about," Tonks teased.

"I bet I'm not nearly as early as Mione," Harry said.

"Hmf, no not near at all," Hermione retorted.

"What time did you wake up?" Ron asked astounded.

"Never fell asleep," Hermione said.

"Wow"

**He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes— he'd change on the train. He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up. **

**Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off. **

**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him. **

"He's being oddly out of character," Luna said, causing people to jump.

**Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face. **

"**Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine — platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?" **

**He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all. **

"**Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursley's drive away. All three of them were laughing. **

"What!" People screamed.

"Petunia knows where the Platform is," Snape said angrily.

"Hey it's a good thing they left that way," Harry said.

"Why?"

"I met some awesome people," He said smiling.

**Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone. He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. **

**The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. **

**In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Harry was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl. **

**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten.**

"Don't do that, idiot," Hermione murmured.

**At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying. **

"— **packed with Muggles, of course —" **

Harry's grin widened.

**Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. **

**Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him — and they had an owl. **

**Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying. **

"So young and you still listen in," Hermione said disapprovingly.

"Its one of those times I actually happy I did," Harry said.

"**Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother. **

"**Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go…"**

"**You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." **

"Hey it's us," The Weasley kids said.

"Yup," Harry said, still smiling.

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. **

**Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it — but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished. **

"**Fred, you next," the plump woman said. **

"**I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"**

"**Sorry, George, dear." **

"**Only joking, I am Fred," **

Sirius and the twins laughed.

"Are favorite joke," Fred said.

**said the boy, and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone — but how had he done it? Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there — and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere. **

**There was nothing else for it. **

"**Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman. **

"**Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."**

**She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose. **

"Hmf, thanks Harry," Ron huffed. Fred and George snickered.

"**Yes," said Harry. "The thing is — the thing is, I don't know how to —" **

"**How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded. **

"**Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron." **

"By the way, Thank you Mrs. Weasley," Harry said.

"Your welcome sweet heart." Mrs. Weasley said fondly.

"**Er — okay," said Harry. **

**He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid. **

**He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble — leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run — the barrier was coming nearer and nearer — he wouldn't be able to stop — the cart was out of control — he was a foot away — he closed his eyes ready for the crash — It didn't come… he kept on running… he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts' Express, eleven o'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. **

**He had done it. **

"WHOAAAA!"

**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. **

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. **

**He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again." **

"**Oh, Neville," he heard the old woman sigh. **

"Neville," Luna said.

**A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd. **

"**Give us a look, Lee, go on." **

**The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg. **

Ron shuddered.

**Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot. **

"**Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier. **

"That's how I met James. He was so scrawny," Sirius said.

"You can be nice," Ron asked astonished.

"We're tricky," George said with a glint in his eye.

"**Yes, please," Harry panted. **

"**Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!" **

**With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment. **

"**Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes. **

"**What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar. **

"Ahhh good times," The twins said, remembering what happens and winking at Harry, who blushed.

"**Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you —?" **

"**He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry. **

"**What?" said Harry. **

"**Harry Potter." chorused the twins. **

"**Oh, him," said Harry. **

Everyone burst out laughing.

"You-you didn't know who your are?" Draco asked through his laughter.

"I wasn't use to people knowing my name," Harry retorted.

It took a few minutes before people settled down.

"**I mean, yes, I am." **

**The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door. **

"**Fred? George? Are you there?" **

"**Coming, Mom." **

**With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train. **

**Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. **

"You heard?" Ginny said, blushing. Harry grinned sheepishly.

**Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief. **

"**Ron, you've got something on your nose." **

**The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose. **

"**Mom**— **geroff" He wriggled free. **

"**Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins. **The twins, Sirius, and Draco snickered causing Ron's ears to turn pink.

"**Shut up," said Ron. **

"**Where's Percy?" said their mother. **

"**He's coming now." **

**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a red and gold badge on his chest with the letter P on it. **

The Weasley's scowled darkly and Mrs. Weasley looked tearful.

"**Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves —" **

"**Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea." **

"**Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once —" **

"**Or twice —" **

"**A minute —" **

"**All summer —" **

"Brilliant," Sirius said, he definitely liked the twins.

"**Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect. **

"**How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins. **

"**Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term — send me an owl when you get there." **

**She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins. **

"**Now, you two — this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've — you've blown up a toilet or —"**

"**Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet." **

"Never give a prankster idea's," Sirius said.

"**Great idea though, thanks, Mom." **

"See."

"**It's not funny. And look after Ron." **

"**Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us." **

"Yeah right," Ron said.

"**Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it. **

"**Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" **

**Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking. **

"**You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" **

"**Who?" **

"**Harry Potter!" **

**Harry heard the little girl's voice. **

"**Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, eh please…"**

"Urgh!" Ginny said putting her face in her hands but it didn't stop them from seeing her blushing. The boys were giggling uncontrollably, Harry was also blushing.

"**You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?" **

"**Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there — like lightning." **

"**Poor dear **— **no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform." **

"**Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" **

"Now I do," Harry said, "And he's goddamned ugly." He ended with a smirk. No one reprimanded him because of recent events.

**Their mother suddenly became very stern. **

"**I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school." **

"**All right, keep your hair on." **

**A whistle sounded. **

"**Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry. **

"**Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls." **

"**We'll send you a Hogwarts' toilet seat." **

"I bet they do," Sirius laughed.

"I don't think so," Remus said.

"Two galleons?" Sirius asked.

"Okay," Remus said, "But I think they'll send it to someone else."

Sirius pursed his lips, "Fine."

"**George!**"

"**Only joking, Mom." **

**The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved. **

**Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to — but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind. **

"It is," said Harry, and Sirius.

**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in. **

"**Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full." **

**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose. **

"**Hey, Ron." **

**The twins were back. **

"**Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." **

"**Right," mumbled Ron. **

"**Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. **

"Stud's as ever," Fred and George said.

**And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then." **

"**Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them. **

"**Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out. **

"Prat," Hermione said smacking his arm.

**Harry nodded. **

"**Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got — you know…" **

**He pointed at Harry's forehead. **

**Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared. **

"**So that's where You-Know-Who —?"**

"**Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it." **

"**Nothing?" said Ron eagerly. **

"Ronald!" Mrs. Weasley and Hermione said sternly.

"I told you not to ask," Mrs. Weasley said.

"You told Fred and George not to after," Ron said, worming out of trouble. Mrs. Weasley muttered but didn't say much more.

"**Well — I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else." **

"**Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again. **

"**Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him. **

"Really?" Ron asked astounded.

"Well yeah. You were the first wizard family I met," Harry smiled.

"**Er — Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."**

"**So you must know loads of magic already." **

**The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about. **

Draco looked disgusted.

"**I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?" **

"**Horrible — well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers." **

"**Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. **"**I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. **

**Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." **

Sriurs and Ron looked murderous, Harry, Remus, and Hermione hissed menacingly.

**Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.**

"**His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. **

"Wish he never did," Ron muttered.

**Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead." **

**Ron's ears went pink. **

**He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window. **

**Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up. **

Mrs. Weasley tutted.

"… **and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort —" **

**Ron gasped. **

"**What?" said Harry. **

"**You said You-Know-Who's name!**" **said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people —" **

"Just a name," Harry sighed.

"**I'm not trying to be brave or anything, **

"Harry you never try. You just are." Luna said.

**saying the name," said Harry, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn… I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class." **

"Sorry, Harry, I took that part," Neville said.

"Your not the worse Nev," Ginny said firmly.

"**You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough." **

**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. **

**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?" **

**Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor. **

**He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry **— **but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts. **

"Déjà vu," Remus said.

"It does seem like they thought like us," Sirius said.

"What?" Harry asked confused.

"I did the same thing, bought a whole load of sweets. And me and James had to bribe Moony with chocolate to get him to talk," Sirius laughed. Remus pouted. Everyone was laughing.

**Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat. **

"**Hungry, are you?" **

"**Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty. **

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef…" **

"**Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on —" **

"**You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us." **

Ron looked uncomfortable.

"**Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten). **

"I should've known it took food for you two to become friends," Hermione said, Harry and Ron grinned sheepishly.

"**What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs.**

"**They're not really frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him. **

"**No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa." **

"**What?" **

"**Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy." **

**Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore. **

"**So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry. **

"**Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa — thanks —" **

"That and you want the food," Ginny said rolling her eyes.

"I'm hungry," Sirius said.

"We just ate Padfoot," Remus said.

"So?"

**Harry turned over his card and read: **

**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE **

**CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS **

**Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling. **

"I still can't believe that after all our searching, it was on a Chocolate Frog card," Hermione whispered exasperated.

**Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared. **

"**He's gone!" **

"**Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. **

"**He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her… do you want it? You can start collecting." **

**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped. "Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos." **

"**Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!" **

The ones who knew about Muggle ways shook their heads.

**Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. **

"**You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once." **

Fred snickered and George glared at him.

**Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner. **

"**Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts." **

**Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper. **

**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. **

**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful. **

Neville turned slightly pink.

"**Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?" **

**When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" **

"**He'll turn up," said Harry. **

"**Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…" **

**He left. **

"**Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk." **

**The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.**

"**He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…" **

**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. **

"**Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway —" **

**He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes. **

"**Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.**

"Harry!" Hermione said glaring at him.

"Sorry," Harry said cowering from her

"**We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand. **

"**Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." **

**She sat down. Ron looked taken aback. **

"You're a bit forward, Mione," Ginny said.

"**Er — all right." **

**He cleared his throat. **

"**Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."**

Fred and George sniggered.

**He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep. **

"**Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" **

"Merlins, Hermione, don't you breathe?" Neville asked panting from having tried reading it with out pause.

"I talk when I'm nervous," Hermione said blushing.

**She said all this very fast. **

**Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either. **

"Didn't even open them," Ron said.

"**I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered. **

"**Harry Potter," said Harry. **

"**Are you really?" said Hermione. **

"**I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century." **

"I was amazed to actually meet someone that was in a book," Hermione said.

"And you were in awe of my awesomeness," Harry teased.

"No. I found out people in books aren't all there said to be," Hermione said smugly.

"That hurts Mione," Harry pouted.

"**Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed. **

"**Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; **

"Damn straight!" Sirius shouted, Remus slapped him.

**I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." **

**And she left, taking the toadless boy with her. **

"**Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. **

"Ronald," Hermione said angrily.

"You have to admit you come on strong," Ron said. Hermione's glare softened.

**He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud." **

"Caught on have you," Smirked George.

"**What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry. **

"**Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin." **

"**That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?" **

Harry winced at the mention of Slytherin.

"**Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed. **

"**You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses. **

"**So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" **

**Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school. **

"They do lots of things Harry," Tonks said.

"**Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. **

"**Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles — someone tried to rob a high security vault." **

**Harry stared. **

"**Really? What happened to them?" **

"**Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. **

"Well one was," Harry whispered to Ron and Hermione.

**My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it." **

"Well he was," Hermione said.

**Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying. **

"**What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked. **

"**Er — I don't know any." Harry confessed.**

Sirius looked horrified.

"Ron you will not make him a Cannons fan," Ginny said disgusted.

"I don't think so," Harry whispered to her.

"**What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world —" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time. **

**Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. **

**He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley. **

"Ewww" Fred and George said. Draco and Harry looked sick.

"**Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" **

"**Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards. **

"**Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." **

**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him. **

"**Think my name's funny, do you?**

"Pretty much," Ginny said.

**No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." **

"At least they know what family means," Harry shot at him, Draco turned pink.

**He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." **

**He held out his hand to shake Harry's,but Harry didn't take it. **

"Good," Sirius said, this kid was pissing him off.

"**I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly. **

**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks. **

"**I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. **

Remus had to hold Sirius back and Harry held Ginny back, Snape held himself back. Everyone else looked outraged.

**They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you." **

**Both Harry and Ron stood up. **

"**Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.**

"**Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered. **

"**Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron. **

"**But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." **

**Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron — Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell. **

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle**

"Only good thing he ever did."

— **Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in. **

"**What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail. **

"**I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No — I don't believe it — he's gone back to sleep." **

**And so he had. **

"**You've met Malfoy before?" **

**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley. **

"**I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." **

**He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?" **

"**You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"**

"Hermione we always get in trouble," Harry said grinning.

"**Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?" **

"**All right — I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. **

Harry grimaced, that was probably her trying to make friends.

"**And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"**

Ron scowled.

**Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down. **

**He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them. **

**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." **

**Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor. **

**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" **

**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. **

"**C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" **

Sirius was bouncing in his seat and even Remus looked excited.

**Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice. **

"**Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here." **

**There was a loud "Oooooh!" **

"Always the same reaction," Dumbledore said merrily.

**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. **

"**No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione. **

"**Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!" **

**And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. **

"**Heads down!" **

"Yeah heads down, Padfoot," Remus said pushing Sirius's head down.

"Hey! I wanted to see the Giant Squid," Sirius pouted.

"And you did, didn't you," Remus smirked.

"Not the way I wanted to but yeah," Sirius said wincing.

**yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. **

"**Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them. **

"**Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. **

**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. **

"**Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" **

**Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.**

"There," Nevile said handing it to Luna.

"Awwww I wanted to hear more," Sirius whined.

"Then let us read, Black, and we will," Snape sneered.


	8. The Sorting Hat

Luna took the book and began.

**Chapter Seven**

**The Sorting Hat**

"Yeah," Sirius said.

**The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross. **

"Definitely not," Sirius said.

"Yet you crossed me every day when you were there," McGonagall said with a brow raised.

"We needed to keep you on your toes," Sirius said seriously.

"**The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid. **

"**Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." **

**She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. **

"We know what it looks like," Draco whined.

**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. **

"Adorable," Sirius said in a baby voice.

"**Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. **

"Definitely family," Harry said, and Sirius nodded in agreement. Mrs. Weasley looked at them sadly.

**You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. **

"**The four houses are called Gryffindor,**

The Gryffindor's in the room cheered.

**Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. **

"**The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." **

**Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. **

**Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair. **

"Won't work," Sirius sang.

"**I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." **

**She left the chamber. Harry swallowed. **

"**How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron. **

"**Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." **

"Fred, do not terrorize your brother," Mrs. Weasley said glaring at him, he cowered behind George.

"Yes m'am" Fred said.

**Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn't know any magic yet —what on earth would he have to do? He hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. **

**He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. **

**Harry tried hard not to listen to her. He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue. **.

The boys snorted with laughter.

**He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom.**

"We felt the same when we were there," Sirius said. McGonagall looked unimpressed.

**Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air — several people behind him screamed. **

"**What the —?" **

**He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. **

**What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —" **

"Peeves," A few said.

"They have the same argument every year," McGonagall said.

"**My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?" **

**A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. **

"Sure they forget all the time," Sirius said rolling his eyes.

**Nobody answered. **

"**New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" **

**A few people nodded mutely. **

"**Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know." **

"**Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." **

**Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. **

"**Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me." **

**Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. **

**Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. **

"It really is," people said.

**It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." **

**It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens. **

**Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house. **

**Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it, Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing **

"What?" The purebloods said.

"Muggle magic trick," Sirius answered. Everyone gave him a look.

"What? I took Muggle Studies," Sirius said.

— **noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing: **

"Are you going to sing?" Sirius asked eagerly.

"That's how it's written, so of course," Luna said looking oddly scandalized.

**But don't judge on what you see, **

**I'll eat myself if you can find **

**A smarter hat than me. **

**You can keep your bowlers black, **

**Your top hats sleek and tall, **

**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat **

**And I can cap them all. **

**There's nothing hidden in your head **

**The Sorting Hat can't see, **

**So try me on and I will tell you **

**Where you ought to be. **

**You might belong in Gryffindor, **

**Where dwell the brave at heart, **

**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry **

**Set Gryffindors apart; **

**You might belong in Hufflepuff, **

**Where they are just and loyal, **

**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true **

**And unafraid of toil; **

**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, **

**if you've a ready mind, **

**Where those of wit and learning, **

**Will always find their kind; **

**Or perhaps in Slytherin **

**You'll make your real friends, **

**Those cunning folk use any means **

**To achieve their ends. **

**So put me on! Don't be afraid! **

**And don't get in a flap! **

**You're in safe hands (though I have none) **

**For I'm a Thinking Cap!" **

"You have a lovely voice, dear," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Thank you," Luna said beaming. (She really did sing wonderfully)

**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. **

"**So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll." **

"Not yet," Ron muttered.

**Harry smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching. **

**The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot; Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. **

**If only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him. **

**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. **

"**When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!" **

Neville blushed.

**A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause — **

"**HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. **

**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her. **

"**Bones, Susan!" **

"**HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah. **

"**Boot, Terry!" **

"**RAVENCLAW!" **

**The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. **

"**Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" **

**became the first new Gryffindor, **

Sirius cheered.

"It's already happened Sirius," Tonks said.

"So, it's Gryffindor."

**and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling. **

"**Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot. **

**He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him. **

Mrs. Weasley was not happy.

**Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.**

"Whoooo," Sirius cheered.

"**Granger, Hermione!" **

**Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.**

Hermione pouted as the boys sniggered.

"**GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned. **

Now Sirius wasn't the only one cheering.

**A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all? What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train? **

"In all my years, that has never happen," Dumbledore said.

**When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. **

**When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag." **

Sirius's cheering turned to laughter.

**Malfoy swaggered **

"I have a swagger?" Draco questioned, looking odd. People nodded their heads.

**forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" **

**Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself. **

**There weren't many people left now. "Moon"…, "Nott"… , "Parkinson"… , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil"… , then "Perks, Sally-Anne"… , and then, at last — **

"**Potter, Harry!" **

"YES!" Sirius and Remus shouted and others cheered. Harry stiffened and Ginny gave him a an odd look having felt him stiffen.

**As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. **

"**Potter, did she say?" **

"**The Harry Potter?" **

**The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited. **

"**Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. **

"Really," Sirius asked, surprised. Harry nodded with difficulty.

**Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting… So where shall I put you?"**

**Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin. **

"Like you'd be put there," Draco sneered. Harry opened his mouth but closed it and winced, he really didn't like this. The few who notice, Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus, Snape, looked slightly worried.

"**Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness,**

Every, I mean everyone, was shocked but no one said anything and Luna continued.

— **no? **

**Well, if you're sure — better be GRYFFINDOR!" **

"You were almost put in Slytherin?" Ron asked wide eyed. Harry nodded fearful. Sirius really had no idea what to say, he loved Harry and hated Slytherin's but could he hate Harry if he was a Slytherin?

"I could care less Harry, it would still be you," Ginny said glaring at everyone. Most nodded and said they agreed but Sirius was still quiet.

"Sirius?" Harry said timidly.

"I'll be honest, Harry, I can't say I don't hate that you were almost one of them. But since it didn't happen I won't let it change how I see you," Sirius said smiling.

"Thank merlins," Harry said and they gave each other a manly, one arm hug.

**Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" **

As they were in the room.

"SHUT UP!" Remus yelled, covering his ears. Ginny and Sirius had joined in.

**Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water. **

"I hate that, specially if done repeatedly," Sirius said shivering.

"I told you two not to do that," Remus said shaking his head.

"But you dared us to in the first place!" Sirius said incredulously.

Harry laughed.

**He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. Harry grinned back. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Harry spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban. **

Harry growled, causing people to give him odd looks.

**And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. **

Sirius cheered.

"**Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now.**

**Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" **

The Weasley cheered loudly.

**Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to him. **

"**Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away. **

**Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago. **

**Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. **

"I do love the Sorting," Dumbledore said, McGonagall nodded in agreement.

"**Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! **

"Crazy," Fred whispered dramatically, Dumbledore smiled.

**Thank you!" **

**He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not. **

"**Is he — a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly. **

"Sorry sir," Harry said uncomfortably.

"It is all right, I do believe I am sometimes," Dumbledore said chuckling.

"**Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?" **

**Harry's mouth fell open. **

"You didn't notice the food appear," Sirius and Ron asked indignantly.

"No," Harry laughed.

**The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs. **

"I'm starving," Ron groaned.

"Me too," Sirius agreed.

"They really remind me of each other," Hermione whispered to Ginny.

"So you like Sirius too?" Ginny whispered grinning evilly.

Hermiones jaw dropped as she spluttered, "That's just- no- I- a," she ended blushing furiously.

"I know, I know."

**The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if it made him sick. **

They scowled.

**Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious. **

Sirius and Ron moaned hungrily.

"**That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak. **

"**Can't you —?" **

"**I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. **

**I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower." **

"**I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you — you're Nearly Headless Nick!" **

"**I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy —" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted. **

"**Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?" **

**Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted. **

McGonagall snorted, "He loves scaring kids like that."

"**Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, **

"See."

**Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So — new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! **

The Gryffindor's grumbled.

**The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable — he's the Slytherin ghost." **

**Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. **

**He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements. **

"**How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest. **

"**I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately. **

"I wouldn't even bother," Sirius said, "He gets nasty if you try."

**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies,**

"I love apple pie," Sirius whined. "I want some."

FLASH

And an apple pie appeared with a little flag in it that said, 'Welcome'

Sirius laughed and dug in.

"I want so ice cream," Ron said.

FLASH

Ice cream appeared. Everyone laughed at the two.

**treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding… **

**As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families. **

"**I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."**

Snape didn't look happy.

**The others laughed. **

"**What about you, Neville?" said Ron. **

"**Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. **

**My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. **

"That's really dangerous to do," Tonks said.

**And you should have seen their faces when I got in here — they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad." **

**On Harry's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons **

**("I do hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, **

**you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult —"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing — "). **

**Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes — and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead. **

"He really did a good job framing him," Hermione said.

"Who framing who?" Mrs. Weasley asked shocked.

"You'll see," Harry said giving a mysterious smile.

"**Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head. **

"**What is it?" asked Percy. **

"**N-nothing." **

**The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harry had gotten from the teacher's look — a feeling that he didn't like Harry at all. **

"Sorry, Harry, that's mine and James fault." Sirius said grimly.

"It's okay," Harry said.

"**Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy. **

"**Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to — everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape." **

Sirius scowled.

**Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at him again. **

**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent. **

"**Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. **

The adults raised there eyebrows.

**I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. **

"**First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." **

**Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.**

"Probably should have never let us in there too," Harry said.

"Never again," Ron shuddered.

"**I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. **

"**Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. **

"**And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." **

"Definitely should've let us in there," Harry said.

"Then You-Know-Who would have been back sooner," Hermione told him, Harry's mood went down.

**Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did. **

"**He's not serious?" **

"No, I am," Sirius said happily. Everyone groaned.

**he muttered to Percy. **

"**Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere — the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least." **

"They don't need to know everything," Snape sneered.

"**And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. **

"Don't you like it?" Dumbledore asked looking put out.

"Of course," they said hurriedly.

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words. **

"**Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" **

"Let's all sing," Dumbledore said happily.

**And the school bellowed: **

"**Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, **

**Teach us something please, **

**Whether we be old and bald **

**Or young with scabby knees, **

**Our heads could do with filling **

**With some interesting stuff, **

**For now they're bare and full of air, **

**Dead flies and bits of fluff, **

**So teach us things worth knowing, **

**Bring back what we've forgot, **

**just do your best, we'll do the rest, **

**And learn until our brains all rot." **

They all ended soon after, except the Twins, wanna guess how they sang it?

**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. **

The twins high-fived.

**Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest. **

"**Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" **

**The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. **

**They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt. **

**A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him. **

"**Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves — show yourself." **

**A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered. **

"**Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?" **

"Awwww," Sirius whined.

**There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks. **

"**Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!" **

**He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked. **

"**Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy. **

**Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed. **

"**You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. **

"No one does," Fred and George said.

**Here we are." **

**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress. **

"Hey now he knows were our Dormitory is," Ron said, pointing at Draco.

"And we know where his is," Harry whispered to him.

"**Password?" she said. **

"**Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it — Neville needed a leg up — and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.**

**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase — they were obviously in one of the towers — they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed. **

"**Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings. "Get off, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets." **

Ron looked disgusted.

**Harry was going to ask Ron if he'd had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once. **

Harry smiled, he loved treacle tart.

**Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully — and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it — then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold — there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking. **

"Wow, that sounds a lot like what happened, Harry," Hermione said, shocked.

"Better then some of my dreams," Harry said, he really didn't like his dreaming.

"You have strange dreams Harry," Luna said vaguely.

**He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he didn't remember the dream at all.**

Luna stopped reading. After a few seconds Ginny asked, "Luna aren't you going to read."

"Oh, that the end," She said handing the book to Snape, who looked sick.

"I guess, I have to read."


	9. The Potions Master

Snape picked the book up, saw the title and said, "Great," sarcasticly as he frowned.

**Chapter 8**

**The Potions Master**

"Well that's great," Fred said.

"Not only do we see him-," George said.

"We have to hear him-,"

"Reading about himself," They finished together. The kids tried to hide their laughter as Snape glared at them.

"**There, look." **

"**Where?" **

"**Next to the tall kid with the red hair." **

"**Wearing the glasses?" **

"**Did you see his face?" **

"**Did you see his scar?" **

"That's annoying," Harry said solomly.

"And even more so with Snape reading it," Sirius whispered to Remus, who snorted.

**Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring. **

**Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes. **

"That would be tough," Tonks said.

**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk. **

"Awww, good old first year," Fred said.

**The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class.**

**He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!" **

**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harry and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning. **

"I'm so proud, Harry," Sirius said mock tearfully.

**Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. **

"Even before you knew what was there, you try and get in," Hermione said shaking her head. Harry and Ron grinned.

**He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing. **

"More like survalence," Hermione growled.

**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. **

**Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins) and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick. **

"Its most kids wish," Draco said.

**And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words. **

"Who would've guessed," Hermione said sarcastically.

"Sarcasim isn't pretty, Mione," Harry said, Hermione slapped him.

**They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for. Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost.**

**Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up. **

**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. **

**At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.**

Everyone laughed softly.

**Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class. **

"**Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." **

**Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. **

"So cruel," Sirius muttered.

**After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile. **

"You really should smile more," Tonks said rather bravely. Sirius smiled at his cousin and McGonagall glared at them.

**The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went. **

"He had more powerful things protecting him," Harry said.

**Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start. **

**Friday was an important day for Harry and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once. **

"We're so proud of you!" Fred and George said, fake crying.

"**What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge. **

"**Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them — we'll be able to see if it's true." **

"Guess what," Draco whispered to Ron and Harry.

"What?" They said, bored.

"Its true," Draco whispered. Harry and Ron chucked pillows at him.

"**Wish McGonagall favored us," said Harry. **

"Won't happen," Everyone except, Luna, McGonagall, and Dumbledore said.

**Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.**

"Not homework," Sirius shouted.

"I remember getting complains about homework everyday from you," McGonagall said.

"But I got high grades," Sirius said smugly.

**Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps. **

**Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. **

**This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate. **

Harry smiled at the memory.

**Harry tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl: **

**Dear Harry, **

**I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? **

**I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig. **

**Hagrid **

"Make sure you look after him Hagrid," Mrs. Weasley said motherly.

**Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled Yes, please, see you later on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again. **

**It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far. **

"Couldn't agree more," Neville said.

**At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry —**

"What?" Everyone said shocked.

**he hated him. **

There was a murmur of understand-ment.

**Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls. **

"Lovely," Mrs. Weasley said.

**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels. **

"**You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.**

"Harry, don't compare her to him," Sirius said apolled. Snape glared at him.

"**As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death **— **if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." **

McGonagall rolled her eyes.

"It would have been a good speech, sir, if you hadn't added the dunderheads part." Luna said. Snape looked slightly shocked at her compliment.

**More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead. **

"Thanks, Harry," Hermione said dryly.

"**Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" **

"That's a sixth year question, Severus," McGonagall said sternly.

**Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air. **

"You know that?" Remus asked shocked. Hermione blushed and nodded.

"**I don't know, sir," said Harry. **

**Snape's lips curled into a sneer. **

"**Tut, tut — fame clearly isn't everything." **

More people glared at him.

**He ignored Hermione's hand. **

"**Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" **

"Up your arse," Sirius and Ron muttered low.

**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter. **

"**I don't know, sir." **

"**Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" **

**Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi? **

"Yeah, we're not all like Hermione," Harry teased, getting smack yet again.

**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand. **

"**What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" **

"Trick question, if I could reach you, I'd smack you," McGonagall said, full blown glare.

**At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.**

"Down girl down," Sirius said.

"Who's the dog here?" Hermione asked raising a eyebrow.

"**I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?" **

"He won't like that. Its cheeky," Remus said.

**A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased. **

"Are you ever?" Fred questioned, and Snape ignored.

"**Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" **

"You didn't tell them to," McGonagall snapped.

**There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."**

"He's always cheeky," Ron said getting smacked by Harry.

**Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. **

**He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. **

"Hey! That's sounds like Remus's potions," Sirius exclaimed.

"I- Yeah its true," Remus said and everyone laughed.

**Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs. **

"**Idiot boy!" **

"Severus, that is no way to teach or to talk to a student!" McGonagall shouted.

**snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?" **

**Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose. **

"**Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville. **

"**You — Potter — why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? **

"He was working on his own," Sirius and McGonagall snarled.

**Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor." **

"Two points to Gryffindor when school begins," McGonagall fumed, Severus showed faint signs of fear.

**This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron. **

"**Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty." **

"And I see most of that everyday," Harry said.

**As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week **

"That's okay Harry, we lost more than that in a day," Sirius said and the Twins nodded.

—**why did Snape hate him so much? **

"Sorry, Harry. We didn't know he'd take it out on you," Sirius said, his face falling.

"**Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?" **

**At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door. **

**When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang —back." **

**Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open. **

"**Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang." **

**He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound. There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it. **

"**Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked. **

"Its always the cute/normal named ones you need to look out for. The vicious named ones that are harmless," Mr. Wealsey said.

"**This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate. **

"**Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. **

"**I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest." **

Fred and George sniggered while Mrs. Weasley scowled and Mr. Weasley smiled.

**The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes. **

"Beautiful."

**Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git." **

"**An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her — Filch puts her up to it." **

**Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students. **

"**But he seemed to really hate me." **

"**Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?" **

**Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that. **

"Like he doesn't know," Remus said rolling his eyes.

"**How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot — great with animals." **

"Changing the subject," Hermione said.

"He was never good at it," George said.

**Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet: **

**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST **

**Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. **

"**But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon. **

**Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date. **

"**Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!" **

"That's rather odd," McGonagall said. Of course the others beside Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, and Snape, did not know all of what happened that year.

**There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry read the story again. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for? **

Hermione raised her hand and said, "I know," mockingly to Harry.

"Your cruel." Harry and Ron said.

**As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, Harry thought that none of the lessons he'd had so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry?**

"No one want to tell me anything," Harry sighed.

"But you normally find out anyways," Neville said.

"After he does something drastic/stupid," Ron and Hermione said and Harry threw pillows at them.

"That is all," Snape said handing the book to…..


	10. Midnight Duel

HELLO! :D I am so glad you all like it. The reason there is so many errors and new but has 8(?) chapters up right away is because it had gotten deleted 2 weeks ago I wanna say. It had been completed. The whole story done and I was working on the second one but a few days before this story got deleted something happen were all my pics/documents/videos/etc. got wiped from my computer . I unfortunately didn't have a back up for half the chapters and am now redoing it. I'm working on both stories now. Trying to go back and forth between them AND move at the same time. I will keep at it though. Enjoy!

Draco took the book and scowled.

"**The Midnight Duel" **

"Alright! Did you kick their ar-?"

"Sirius!" Mrs. Weasley interrupted, giving him a stern look.

"What? I wasn't going to swear, honest!" Sirius said but Mrs. Weasley ignored him and turned to Harry.

"You better not do it," she said to him..

"Sorry Mrs. Weasley." Harry said.

"So did you," Sirius mouthed to Harry, who just grinned and winked at him.

**Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy.**

"I don't if I should be insulted or honored, Potter," Draco said.

"Feel honored," Harry said after a moment of consideration.

**Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much.**

"I could change that," Draco smirked.

"Nope."

"No, all good."

"Don't do us any favors."

"Hell no."

The Weasley's, Harry, Hermione, and Neville chorused.

**Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday — and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.**

"FLYING!" Sirius shouted, getting hit by a few, or ten, pillows.

'**Typical,' said Harry darkly. 'Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy.'**

Harry grinned at the dark look on Draco's face.

**He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.**

"Of course you have! There is NOTHING better the flying, it's the best thing in the world." Remus put his hand over Sirius's mouth.

"Lets move on before he really gets started," he said, giving a small smile to the cackling teens.

'**You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself,' said Ron reasonably. 'Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk.' **

"Yeah, sure is." Ron said, grinning.

**Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams**

Harry grinned widely.

**and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters.**

"Do you even know what a helicopter is?" Hermione asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yes, there flying machines." Draco said, with a air of superiority.

"I'm shocked. The great Draco Malfoy knows something about Muggles."

"We do keep informed," he said, turning away.

**He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick.**

"Everyone always talks big their first lesson. Very few are actually true. James and Sirius were the 2 with true stories in our group and from the grins I see over there, I'd say they were a pair too." Remus said looking at Fred and George.

**listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom.**

"Which wasn't all my fault," Ron said glaring at the Twins.

"You said you wanted to go higher," George said.

'**Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. **

**Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about football. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly.**

"Actually a really fun game," Tonks said. Ron scuffed.

**Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham football team, trying to make the players move.**

"Thanks for catching that Harry," Ron said, pink in the face from his brothers laughter.

**Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. **

"Also because I'd rather not get more injured than I already do."

**Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.**

"Exactly my point."

**Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was.**

Hermione wrinkled her nose.

**This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book — not that she hadn't tried.**

"Not really the reason now," Hermione said. "It was something I didn't expect and I hate heights!"

**At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called **_**Quidditch Through the Ages**_**.**

"What? That's actually a good book," Sirius said, shocked.

**Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail. **

"Thank goodness," Ron muttered, earning a slap on the arm.

**Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table.**

People glared at him.

**A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.**

"Ahhh a Rememberall, not all that useful." Remus said.

'**It's a Remembrall!' he explained. 'Gran knows I forget things — this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red — oh…' His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, '… you've forgotten something…' **

"That would only make me more frustrated," Tonks said.

**Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.**

"Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall said disapprovingly.

**Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, **

Mrs. Weasley tsked.

**but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.**

"With her cat like reflexes," Sirius muttered to Ginny, who giggled.

"What was that Mr. Black?" McGonagall asked.

"Nothing Minnie!"

'**What's going on?' **

'**Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor.' **

**Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table. **

'**Just looking,' he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.**

The teens snickered.

**At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day,**

"Perfect Quidditch weather," said every single player.

**and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance. **

**The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.**

"We really must get new brooms. Those are safety hazards!" McGonagall complained.

**Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.**

"How did that happen?" Neville asked.

"A Charms accident when she was young," McGonagall said.

'**Well, what are you all waiting for?' she barked. 'Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up.' **

**Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles. **

'**Stick out your right hand over your broom,' called Madam Hooch at the front, 'and say "Up!"'**

'**UP' everyone shouted. **

**Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once,**

"WOW!" Sirius shouted, bouncing in his seat.

**but it was one of the few that did. **

**Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Harry; **

"Very good theory, Harry. I think you may be right." Dumbledore said.

**there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground.**

"Very much so."

**Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.**

"Stupid Potter. Notices everything." Draco muttered to himself.

'**Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard,' said Madam Hooch. 'Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle — three — two —' **

Neville winced remembering what happened next.

**But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.**

"Oh no," Mrs. Weasley said worried.

'**Come back, boy!' she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle — twelve feet — twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and — **

**WHAM — a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay face down on the grass in a heap.**

"Oh my! Are you okay!" Mrs. Weasley said, looking Neville up and down for signs of injury.

"I'm fine Mrs. Weasley." Neville said, blushing.

**His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.**

McGonagall opened her mouth but Dumbledore said," Yes, we will deffinetly be getting new brooms."

**Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his. **

'**Broken wrist,' Harry heard her mutter. 'Come on, boy — it's all right, up you get.'**

Neville, Mrs. Weasley, and Hermione grimaced.

**She turned to the rest of the class. **

'**None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say "Quidditch." Come on, dear.' **

"Well that was an open invitation," Sirius said grinning.

**Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him. **

**No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.**

"Bloody Jackarse," Ginny muttered, making Harry and Sirius have to cover their mouths from laughing.

'**Did you see his face, the great lump?'"**

"**The other Slytherins joined in. **

'**Shut up, Malfoy,' snapped Parvati Patil.**

Neville smiled weakly, it was nice to know people stood up for him.

'**Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?' said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. 'Never thought **_**you'd **_**like fat little crybabies, Parvati.'**

Draco look disgusted, he HATED Parkinson.

'**Look!' said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. 'It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him.' **

**The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.**

"What happens now?" Mrs. Weasley sighed.

'**Give that here, Malfoy,' said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch. **

**Malfoy smiled nastily. **

"Like he always does."

'**I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find — how about — up a tree?' **

'**Give it **_**here**_**!' Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he **_**could **_**fly well.**

"Thank you Potter," Draco said smiling, but quickly looked horrified at actually thanking someone.

"Your welcome…." Harry said unsure.

**Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, 'Come and get it, Potter!' **

**Harry grabbed his broom. **

'_**No!' **_**shouted Hermione Granger. 'Madam Hooch told us not to move — you'll get us all into trouble.'**

"You didn't get in trouble though," Harry pointed out.

"Whatever."

**Harry ignored her. Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him — and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught — this was easy, this was **_**wonderful**_**.**

Sirius grinned, his eyes a bit watery. He wished so much that James was here to hear about this. He'd be so happy that his son felt what he felt when flying. It was something Sirius knew that James would love to share with Harry.

"Just like your dad," Sirius whispered.

**He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.**

"Creepy how you can distinguish a noise from me from others."

**He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned.**

"We all were," Ron said.

"'**Give it here,' Harry called, 'or I'll knock you off that broom!' **

'**Oh, yeah?' said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried.**

"Not so tough without your thugs," Ginny smirked.

**Harry knew, somehow, what to do. **

"Natural," Sirius breathed.

**He leaned forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.**

Sirius listened, wide-eyed. Drinking in the knowledge of Harry's first time on a real broom.

"'**No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy,' Harry called.**

Malfoy snorted, "Like they could actually fight. They're for looks rather than use."

**The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy. **

"I was shocked you could fly," Draco said, looking insulted.

'**Catch it if you can, then!' he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground. **

**Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down — next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball — wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching — he stretched out his hand — a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.**

There was shocked silence.

"Sweet Merlins that was AMAZING!" Sirius yelled jumping up and hugging Harry tightly. Everyone was truly impressed, it was nothing like they had heard it. The teens cheered.

"Harry James Potter! You could have gotten seriously injured! Don't ever do that again!" Mrs. Weasley said angrily.

"Mrs. Weasley this is actually one of the safest things I've done." Harry said.

"'**HARRY POTTER!' **

**His heart sank faster than he'd just dived. Professor McGonagall was running toward them. **

"Come on Minnie, you had to have seen that move! You can't punish him, please don't," Sirius whined.

**He got to his feet, trembling. **

'_**Never **_— **in all my time at Hogwarts —' **

**Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, '— how **_**dare **_**you — might have broken your neck —'**

"But I didn't"

"'**It wasn't his fault, Professor —' **

'**Be quiet, Miss Patil —' **

'**But Malfoy —' **

'**That's **_**enough**_**, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now.' **

"Listen to them!" Sirius shouted.

**Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left,**

Which was how Harry, Ron, and the Twins were grinning. Unnoticed by Sirius who looked heartbroken.

**walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it.**

"Hardly, the worst you'll get in detention for a week." Remus said. Sirius moaned unhappily.

**He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up.**

The Twins snickered.

**Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep?**

"We'll never know since your not going back," McGonagall said, a sharp look towards Dumbledore.

**Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him. **

**She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore.**

"Not this time."

**He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards, while he stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag.**

Ginny looked so sad at the thought she hugged him tightly.

**Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside. **

'**Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?' **

**Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?**

McGonagall's face turned white with horror. "Harry, I would never even think of doing such a thing," she said softly.

"I know Professor," Harry said quietly.

**But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick's class looking confused. **

'**Follow me, you two,' said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry. **

"Everyone looks at you curiously."

'**In here.' **

**Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard. **

'**Out, Peeves!' she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys. **

'**Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood — I've found you a Seeker.' **

Everyone covered there ears, expecting a loud exclamation. But Sirius just sat there, jaw dropped.

**Wo-**

"I LOVE YOU MINNIE!" Sirius yelled, jumping up and kissing McGonagall full on the mouth and spinning her around. Everyone laughed hysterically as he set her back down, her face was bright pink and she was straightening her clothes as she sat back down. Sirius turned to Harry.

"Don't even think about kissing me," he warned but Sirius just yanked him up and spun him around too. Talking to fast for anyone to really know what he was saying.

"Sirius. SIRIUS! Put me down. We should keep reading." Harry said over everyone laughter. Harry collapsed next to Ginny, grinning.

"Moving on!" Snape shouted. Everyone tried to stifle their laughter.

**od's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.**

"Wouldn't shut up when he told us," Fred said.

'**Are you serious, Professor?' **

"No I'm Sirius!" Sirius said grinning.

'**Absolutely,' said Professor McGonagall crisply. **

"I don't think so Minnie," Sirius told her sternly.

**'The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?' **

**Harry nodded silently.**

"Actually no," Remus said.

"What?" Harry asked confused.

"I got you a toy broomstick for your first birthday. James loved it but Lily wouldn't stop yelling at me when you broke a window." Sirius said laughing. Harry smiled. He couldn't believe his dad got to see him fly. It made Harry so happy.

**He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs. **

'**He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive,' Professor McGonagall told Wood.**

"and on a school broom," Tonks said, just realizing it.

**'Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it.'**

"True."

**Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once. **

"Probably"

'**Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?' he asked excitedly.**

"Don't worry, Harry. You'll be going to plenty of games soon." Sirius said, smiling.

"That'd be awesome," Harry said.

'**Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team,' Professor McGonagall explained. **

'**He's just the build for a Seeker, too,' said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. 'Light —speedy — we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor — a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say.' **

'**I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule."**

"Ohhhhh Minnie's breaking rules!" Sirius teased. McGonagall just gave him a sharp look and turned away.

"**Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. **_**Flattened **_**in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks…'**

Snape smirked as the others groaned in disgust and disappointment.

**Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry. **

'**I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you.' **

"Trying to keep up appearances, eh?" Tonks said.

**Then she suddenly smiled. **

'**Your father would have been proud,' she said. 'He was an excellent Quidditch player himself.'**

"He really would've been and he is." Remus said. Him and Sirius smiling at Harry.

'**You're **_**joking**_**.' **

"No we are not," Sirius said seriously.

**It was dinnertime. **

"Oh.."

**Harry had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it.**

"Wow. Ron forgetting about food. He must be impressed." Ginny said.

'_**Seeker**_**?' he said. 'But first years **_**never **_— **you must be the youngest house player in about —' **

'— **a century,' said Harry, shoveling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. 'Wood told me.'**

"Amazing!"

**Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry.**

"Thanks for that mate, creeped me out." Harry said.

'**I start training next week,' said Harry. 'Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret.'**

"Like that ever happens." Mrs. Weasley said.

"Well…." said Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, and the Twins.

"Of course. If anyone could keep secrets it would be all of you." Mrs. Weasley said shaking her head.

**Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over. **

'**Well done,' said George in a low voice. 'Wood told us. We're on the team too — Beaters.' **

'**I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred.**

"You have to!" Sirius said excitedly. Harry grimaced, he felt horrible that each year they couldn't because of him.

**'We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us.' **

"Or not," George muttered.

'**Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school.' **

'**Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you.'**

Snape raised and eyebrow. He made a mental note to listen for anymore secret places mentioned. Mean while the Twins also realized the Professors might take note and were trying to figure out ways to stop it.

**Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. **

'**Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?' **

"Not for quit sometime."

'**You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you,' said Harry coolly.**

"Really? You call them "Little?" Hate to see your definition of big." Ginny said. The Twins stifled they're laughter.

**There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl. **

'**I'd take you on anytime on my own,' said Malfoy. 'Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only — no contact."**

"Like either of you could actually do damage to the other." Hermione snorted.

"**What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?' **

"No." Harry said.

'**Of course he has,' said Ron, wheeling around. 'I'm his second,"**

"Ronald Weasley! You will NOT, I repeat NOT, ever participate in a duel as such." Mrs. Weasley said furiously. McGonagall looked equal pissed.

"**Who's yours?' **

**Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up. **

'**Crabbe,' he said.**

"I don't think either would be helpful in a real duel." Hermione said.

**'Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked.'**

Mrs. Weasley sighed heavily.

**When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other. **

'**What is a wizard's duel?' said Harry. 'And what do you mean, you're my second?'**

The adults rolled their eyes. It was ridiculous.

'**Well, a second's there to take over if you die,' said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie. **

"Ron!" Ginny said gapping at him. "Don't talk about that."

"Well I apparently don't know how to die, so I think we're good Gin," Harry said jokingly.

**Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, 'But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway.'**

"Not really, Weasley." Draco said.

'**And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?'**

"Laugh."

'**Throw it away and punch him on the nose,' Ron suggested.**

"Rules were no contact, Ronald." Hermione said.

'**Excuse me.' **

**They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger.**

"Ah! Night troll!" Fred yelled, cowering into George.

"Idiots." Hermione muttered.

'**Can't a person eat in peace in this place?' said Ron.**

"Ronald." Mrs. Weasley said warningly.

**Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry. **

"Which is what normally happens."

'**I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying —'**

"Surrrrre, just couldn't help yourself." George teased.

'**Bet you could,' Ron muttered.**

Hermione pinched his side hard.

— **and you **_**mustn't **_**go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you.' **

"Says the one who came with us," Ron whispered to Hermione.

'**And it's really none of your business,' said Harry.**

"Owhhhhhhh, Harry's getting testy. Watch out." Fred and George laughed.

'**Good-bye,' said Ron. **

**All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing).**

"More like I hadn't gotten into the common room yet." Neville said.

**Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as 'If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them.'**

"Fabulous advice." Hermione said sarcastically.

**There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck,**

"That is pushing your luck? Then what is everything else you do?" Ron asked.

"I don't know.. Lets call it work." Harry said, shrugging.

**breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness — this was his big chance to beat Malfoy face-to-face. He couldn't miss it.**

"Of course you couldn't." McGonagall said.

'**Half-past eleven,' Ron muttered at last, 'we'd better go.' **

**They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, 'I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry.' **

**A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown. **

"Pink, Hermione? Really?" Ginny asked, looking slightly disgusted.

'_**You!'**_ **said Ron furiously. 'Go back to bed!'**

"Tell me what to do again, I dare you." Hermione said dangerously.

'**I almost told your brother,' Hermione snapped, 'Percy — he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this.'**

Hermione winced at the looks the brothers gave her.

**Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering.**

"And now?" Hermione asked.

"I believe it," Harry smiled.

'**Come on,' he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole. **

**Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose.**"Ow!" Ron cried out, rubbing his arm and looking at Hermione.

'**Don't you **_**care **_**about Gryffindor, do you **_**only **_**care about yourselves, **_**I **_**don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells.'**

"Like you won't make them all back," Sirius scoffed.

'**Go away.' **

'**All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so —'**

"What are we?" Harry asked.

"I'm not answering that," Hermione said.

**But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting.**

"Happen many a time to us," Fred and George said. Sirius and Remus nodded in agreement.

**The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower. **

'**Now what am I going to do?' she asked shrilly.**

"Go on an adventure!" Sirius said cheerfully.

'**That's your problem,' said Ron. 'We've got to go, we're going to be late.' **

**They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them. **

'**I'm coming with you,' she said.**

"And so it starts." Hermione said.

'**You are **_**not**_**.' **

'**D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up.'**

"Not gonna happen. He doesn't care if you willingly went or were dragged out." Tonks said.

'**You've got some nerve —' said Ron loudly. **

'**Shut up, both of you!' said Harry sharply. 'I heard something.' **

**It was a sort of snuffling. **

'**Mrs. Norris?' breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.**

"Kick her."

**It wasn't Mrs. Norris."**

**It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer. **

'**Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed.'**

"You poor dear!" Mrs. Weasley said.

'**Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere. How's your arm?' said Harry.**

'**Fine,' said Neville, showing them. 'Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute.' **

"Good."

'**Good — well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later —' **

'**Don't leave me!' said Neville, scrambling to his feet, 'I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already.'**

"He can't hurt you, don't worry."

**Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville. **

Hermione in turn glared at him.

'**If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you.' **

**Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies,**

"Whatever Harry," she huffed and crossed her arms.

**but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward. **

**They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor**

McGonagall shook her head.

**and tiptoed toward the trophy room. **

**Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet.**

Draco smirked a bit.

**The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once. **

**The minutes crept by. **

Snape shook his head, typical trick.

'**He's late, maybe he's chickened out,' Ron whispered.**

"I don't think so," Remus said.

**Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak — and it wasn't Malfoy. **

'**Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner.'**

A lot of people groaned.

**It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room. **

Sighs of relief.

'**They're in here somewhere,' they heard him mutter, 'probably hiding.' **

'**This way!' Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor. The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.**

"Come on," Sirius muttered. Everyone looked very anxious.

'**RUN!' Harry yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following — they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going — they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room. **

"Schools not that big," Ginny muttered.

'**I think we've lost him,' Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering. **

'**I —**_**told **_— **you,' Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, 'I — told — you.'**

"I don't believe that is the time for it," Luna said.

'**We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower,' said Ron, 'quickly as possible.'**

"Good idea." Mrs. Weasley said.

'**Malfoy tricked you,' Hermione said to Harry. 'You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you — Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off.'**

"We got that, now be quite!"

**Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that.**

"Wow," Hermione said sarcastically.

'**Let's go.' **

**It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them. **

**It was Peeves.**

"One thing after another with you." McGonagall said.

**He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight. **

'**Shut up, Peeves — please — you'll get us thrown out.'**

"That's not going to make him help you." George said.

**Peeves cackled. **

'**Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty.' **

'**Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please.'**

"Take out the please, being nice doesn't work on him anymore than anger." Sirius said.

'**Should tell Filch, I should,' said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. 'It's for your own good, you know.' **

'**Get out of the way,' snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves this was a big mistake.**

"Little bro, little bro. You need to learn from us." Fred said.

'**STUDENTS OUT OF BED!' Peeves bellowed, 'STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!' **

**Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door — and it was locked.**

Everyone just looked at them. They couldn't believe how bad their luck was.

'**This is it!' Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, 'We're done for! This is the end!' **

**They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts. **

'**Oh, move over,' Hermione snarled. **

**She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, '**_**Alohomora**_**!'**

"Hermione to the rescue!" the Twins cheered.

"Its incredible that you were able to use his wand like that Miss Granger. It means you and Mr. Potter have a strong connection." Dumbledore said knowledgably.

"What?" Ginny asked, a bit jealous.

"It means Harry trusts me completely." Hermione said quickly. Soothing the two youngest Weasley's.

"I think by now if I didn't we'd have some serious problems." Harry said laughing.

**The lock clicked and the door swung open — they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.**

'**Which way did they go, Peeves?' Filch was saying. 'Quick, tell me.' **

'**Say 'please.'**

"Okay your clear," George said smiling.

"What?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Peeves is messing with him," Sirius said.

"He's not going to tell," Fred added.

'**Don't mess with me, Peeves, now **_**where did they go**_**?' **

'**Shan't say nothing if you don't say please,' said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.**

Ginny laughed, catching on quickly.

'**All right —**_**please**_**.' **

'**NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!' **

**And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage. **

'**He thinks this door is locked,' Harry whispered. 'I think we'll be okay — get **_**off**_**, Neville!' **

"Sorry Nev. I'm glad you got my attention," Harry said.

**For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. '**_**What**_**?'**

"Fine don't turn around," Neville teased.

**Harry turned around — and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare — this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far. **

"What about now?" Hermione asked. Harry tilted his head to the side as he considered the question.

"Yeah, its been topped. And I'm sure I'll see something else to top all that." Harry said.

"That's not something I'm looking forward to." Hermione said, making a face. Everyone laughed.

**They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.**

Mrs. Weasley gripped Mr. Weasley's hand very tightly.

**They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.**

Everyone's face went white.

"GET OUT THERE!" Mrs. Wealsey screamed horribly loudly. "What is that doing in the school? Around children!" She was practically hyperventilating. Those who hadn't know about Fluffy just sat wide-eyed.

**It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.**

Mrs. Weasley just kept chanting, "Get out, get out, get out…."

**Harry groped for the doorknob — between Filch and death, he'd take Filch.**

"Smart choice," Snape said.

**They fell backward — Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere,**

"That's good."

**but they hardly cared — all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor. **

'**Where on earth have you all been?' she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces. **

'**Never mind that — pig snout, pig snout,' panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward.**

"Just let them in." Ginny said.

**They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs. **

**It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again.**

"Felt like it too," Neville said, shuddering at the memory of meeting that crazy dog.

'**What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?' said Ron finally. 'If any dog needs exercise, that one does.'**

A few couldn't help but chuckle.

**Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. 'You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?' she snapped. 'Didn't you see what it was standing on?'"**

"How could you even pay attention to the floor?" Sirius asked surprised.

'**The floor?' Harry suggested. 'I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads.' **

'**No, **_**not **_**the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something.'**

"And now you have to find out exactly what its guarding." McGonagall said.

"See, it was all Hermione's fault." Ron said smirking at her.

"No-! Okay it was."

**She stood up, glaring at them. **

'**I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled."**

Everyone just looked at her and starred.

"I know, I know. I don't think that anymore." Hermione said, her face pink.

"**Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed.'**

**Ron stared after her, his mouth open.**

"He does that a lot," Ginny whispered to Harry, who smirked at his friend.

'**No, we don't mind,' he said. 'You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you.'**

"Pretty much," she laughed.

**But Hermione had given Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed. The dog was guarding something… What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide — except perhaps Hogwarts. **

Everyone nodded in agreement at this.

**It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.**

"This isn't going to stop is it/" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Nope," said the trio.


	11. Be it as you may

**HELLO!**

I'm giving this as a quick notice. I WILL be continuing this story. I love writing it and love hearing from you all but to be honest with all the moving and it being my Senior year, I just forgot about it :( I hate that that happened. Also when it got taken down I was extremely mad because I'm a slow writer at times and to have all my work taken away made me angry.

So here's my game plan for this story. Right now till Christmas break I wont be able to write since I have over half of two different classes to finish by then and I cannot fail either one. Which I might fail at least Physics because I hate it and it hates me, taking that and Consumers online, NOT fun what so ever. But after that I will get back at this and at least finish the first book! After break I dont know how much I'll be writing because, like I said, its my Senior year.

I am commited to this guys. I hate when people completely give up on do them and I dont want to do that to y'all since you've been great to stick with me through this. I vow to finish all 7 books, even if I have to lock myself away to do it. I dont know when I will, but I will.

Oh and a quick thank you to two authors who have been writing some amazing stories which I have submitted characters to and went and commented/favorited/followered this and made me what to start up again. I hope you enjoy my fic as much as I do yours.


End file.
